Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon Review

Knob Creek 9 Year
Small Batch
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Aged Nine Years
100 Proof
Knob Creek Distilling Company
Clermont, Kentucky
MSRP: $35-$40 retail (may be found as low as $30)
Review

Please enjoy our Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon Review!

I am not sure why I haven’t reviewed Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon earlier. It was actually the first bourbon that I drank regularly when I started drinking bourbon in earnest. I loved it in Old Fashioneds, which is what I drank most of the time. Fast forward 13 years and I still think it is a great bourbon, and it still has a place in my Old Fashioneds. It’s also great neat or on the rocks, and it is readily available and priced fairly for a 9 year old age stated bourbon.

Knob Creek Was Born In 1992

The Knob Creek brand of today was born in 1992 as part of Beam’s new (at the time) Small Batch Collection. The Beam Small Batch Collection was comprised of Booker’s (which was first released in 1988), Basil Hayden, Baker’s and Knob Creek bourbons. Interestingly, Baker’s is now a single barrel bourbon, and the Small Batch Collection is now just an historical mention on the beamdistilling.com website.

Originally Knob Creek Small Batch Bourbon was released as a 9 year old aged-stated bourbon. It was (and is) aged in Rackhouse (as Beam calls their warehouses) K. Citing shortages of 9 year old bourbons, Beam removed the age statement back in 2016, but then brought it back in 2020.

Tasting Notes – Knob Creek 9 Year Old Bourbon Review

Let’s taste it:

Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

Nose: Rye spices, caramel, brown sugar, cherry, cedar, vanilla; moderate alcohol.
Taste: Caramel, brown sugar, rye spices & some barrel char
Finish: Rapidly growing capsaicin spice, oak, char & dryness build into the long finish. The capsaicin spice turns towards spicy ginger snaps later on. Moderate burn.

Starts Differently Than It Finishes

Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon starts off quite differently than it finishes. The initial flavors in the nose have a noticeable confectionary note of rich vanilla, caramel, brown sugar and plenty of cherry. There’s some rye spice in there, too, but it is not overbearing. In the taste, many of the flavors continue but there is fairly rapid transition to the spicy, drier, oak and char finish.

Summary

Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon is a solid bourbon. It has the classic bourbon flavors, albeit, with a bit of a “bite” to it. As the years have gone on, I now more frequently drink its older and/or higher proof brethren, particularly the 120 proof store picks. None-the-less, it is an enjoyable, available and reasonably priced bourbon that always has a home on my bar, and is often my pour of choice when I am out. Are you a Knob Creek fan? Cheers!

We hope you have enjoyed our Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon Review! Would you like to read about some of the other Knob Creek Bourbons? Check out our Knob Creek 12 Year Bourbon Review and our Knob Creek 18 Year Bourbon Review!

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