Knob Creek is an American brand of Kentucky straight

bourbon whiskey Bourbon () is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn. The name derives from the French Bourbon dynasty, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County in Kentucky and Bourbo ...

produced by

Beam Suntory Beam Suntory, Inc. is an American-founded, Japanese multinational company that produces alcoholic beverages. It is a subsidiary of Suntory, based in Osaka, Japan. It is the third largest producer of distilled beverages worldwide, behind Diageo ...

(a subsidiary of

Suntory Holdings (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

Osaka, Japan is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Ja ...

) at the

Jim Beam Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced in Clermont, Kentucky, by Beam Suntory. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohibition), seven generations of the Beam family have be ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

Clermont, Kentucky Clermont is a USGS-designated populated place (one of 32) in Bullitt County, Kentucky, United States, south of Louisville. It is an unincorporated community. Geography Clermont is located at (37.5547, -85.3910) and is 531 feet (162 meters) ...

. It is one of the four Jim Beam

small batch Small batch whiskey is whiskey produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of selected barrels. Small batch whiskeys are commercially positioned for the upper-premium market. The term is most commonly used for American whiskey ...

bourbon brands targeted for the high-end liquor market. Its siblings in the line are

Booker's Booker's bourbon is one of the small batch bourbons produced by the Jim Beam distillery, which is owned by Beam Suntory (a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan). Having the highest alcohol content of the brands in the Jim Beam "Small B ...

Baker's A baker is someone who primarily bakes and sells bread. Baker and Bakers may also refer to: Brands and companies * Baker Skateboards * Baker's Chocolate * Baker's Drive-Thru, chain of fast-food restaurants in Southern California * Baker Hughes, ...

, and

Basil Hayden's Basil Hayden's is the lightest-bodied bourbon whiskey in the family of Jim Beam small batch bourbons produced by Beam Suntory (a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan). It is 80 proof, in contrast with its three sibling brands of high ...

. The primary expression of the brand is aged for 9 years and bottled at 100 proof (higher than the typical 4 years and 80 proof that are the minimums required by U.S. Federal labeling requirements). Knob Creek comes in a rectangular bottle with a corked or twist-on cap and wax-sealed top. The bourbon has a dark, amber-brown color.

History

The first Knob Creek bourbon was introduced in 1992, named after nearby Knob Creek Farm. It shares the same general formulation as

, but is aged and packaged differently. In 2009, Beam ran a campaign to publicize their shortage of Knob Creek bourbon. Demand exceeded the 2000 forecast, when the stock began the aging process. Knob Creek was aged for nine years until late 2016, when Beam Suntory removed the age statement from the label due to tight inventory that could not be guaranteed to be aged the full nine years. In mid 2019 Beam Suntory announced the age statement would return to bottle labels sometime in 2020.

Varieties

*Original 100 proof (50%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

): Aged 9 years. *Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve: a 120 proof (60% ABV) single barrel bourbon, was introduced in 2010. *Knob Creek Rye: a 100 proof (50% ABV) straight

rye whiskey Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey: * American rye whiskey, which is similar to bourbon whiskey, but must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye grain * Canadian whisky, which is often referred to as (and o ...

bearing the Knob Creek name was released in 2012. This is the first Knob Creek whiskey not to carry an age statement, instead being advertised only as "Patiently Aged". *Knob Creek Smoked Maple Bourbon: Introduced in 2013. It is bottled at 90 proof (45% ABV), and is the company's first flavored bourbon

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...

. *Knob Creek 2001 Limited Edition: Introduced in 2016, this was a one-time release that marks the passing of the production process from Booker Noe to his son Fred. This release was made from barrels that Booker stored in 2001 and were finished by son Fred. There were four different batches released in 2016, retailing at around $130 per bottle. Bottles were 100 proof and aged for 14 years, which is 5 years longer than the Original 100 and Knob Creek Single Barrel. *Knob Creek 18 Year Old: Introduced in 2022, the 100 proof bourbon is the company's oldest expression to date.

Reviews

Knob Creek bourbon has won a number of accolades from

Spirit ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels ...

organizations. * The

San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded in 2001 by Anthony Dias Blue as an off-shoot of the San Francisco International Wine Competition. It assesses hundreds of entrants annually (1,407 in 2013 from 63 countries) with tastings inv ...

s gave it two double gold, three golds, one silver, and one bronze medal between 2005 and 2012, and gave it a "Best Bourbon" award in 2015. * ''

Wine Enthusiast Magazine ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educat ...

'' rated it in its 90–95 point interval in 2005. * The

Beverage Testing Institute The Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) is a marketing service company that provides reviews for spirits, wines, and beers. It uses numerical scores and publishes books of its test results. The company's beer marketing program, the World Beer Champio ...

rated it twice, giving it 90 points on one occasion and 91 points on another. Food critic Morgan Murphy said "Aged 9 years, this whiskey stands as one of the first premium, small-batch bourbons."

References

External links

* {{Suntory Bourbon whiskey Beam Suntory