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1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
$51.99
The 9-Year-Old age statement is back on the bottle! Produced by Jim Beam Distillery in Clermont, Kentucky - the Small Batch version of Knob Creek is at least 9 years old and is bottled at 50% ABV, Knob Creek purportedly uses Jim Beam's 'Low Rye" mash bill of about 75% Corn, 13% Rye, and 12% Barley.
750 mlEvan's Tasting Note
Nose: Cherry liqueur, cinnamon hearts, sweet peach iced tea, nutmeg, cloves and mint, pan fried bananas, toasted marshmallows, peanut brittle, leather and polished oak.
Palate: Boldly sweet and spicy, black tea, anise, cloves, nutmeg, cedar plank, sliced peaches, apples and cinnamon, buttery pancake syrup, vanilla, bitter dark chocolate and sweet chai tea.
Finish: Leathery and oak-driven with a touch of lingering pastry-like sweetness.
Comment: Lots of spice, wood and oak to be had in this bourbon, but it is balanced out by the sweetness. At 50% ABV, this is a very flavourful Bourbon that drinks well on its own but would also make a great dancing partner in cocktails.
Jim Beam is probably the most famous and recognized brand when it comes to Bourbon. Well, other than Jack Daniel’s. Okay, let go with this: Jim Beam is probably the most famous and recognized brand when it comes to Kentucky Bourbon. The Jim Beam Distillery traces its history back to 1795, with a hiccup in the early 20th century caused by prohibition. The surname Beam plays a major role not only in this distillery but also in a few other distilleries around Kentucky, including Heaven Hill. Jim Beam was actually James B. Beam, and he was the person that got the business going again after prohibition ended.
The Knob Creek brand was originally introduced with this bottle: the 100 Proof Small Batch back in 1992. The 120 Proof Knob Creek Single Barrel joined the ranks in 2010, and the Knob Creek Rye joined the duo to make it a trio in 2012. In the past two years, we have seen a few special releases hit the shelves at our shop as well, mostly focusing on the Rye side of things. But this one is a Bourbon, so let’s stick to talking about that.
Jim Beam as a distillery and as a company (now part of Beam Suntory) makes many different brands of Bourbon. Knob Creek is one of its four Premium Small Batch Brands, the others being Booker’s, Baker’s, and Basil Hayden’s.
What separates Knob Creek from the rest is an oakier, fuller flavoured, bolder and more spice-driven style than its compatriots. It also is the only one of the four that has bottlings at 50 and 60% ABV. Baker’s - which in 2020/2021 switched from a Small Batch to a Single Barrel release is bottled at 53.5% ABV and Booker’s is usually above 60% ABV and varies from batch to batch.
As with all Bourbon, Knob Creek is made from a mash bill of at least 51% Corn and aged in heavily charred virgin oak barrels. Once upon a time, Knob Creek Small Batch carried a 9-Year-Old age statement on its label. In 2016, Beam Suntory announced that the age statement would be removed due to the current Bourbon Boom and a shortage of older stock to use. However, on June 13th of this year 2019, it was announced that the 9-year-old age statement would return to Knob Creek Small Batch, and it indeed now has.
As for the mash bill used for Knob Creek Bourbon – there are a few conflicting numbers to be found when trying to find this out. The good news all the different ratios I could find come within 3-4% of each other. For the sake of argument (or perhaps agreement? let’s just go with what seems to be the most widely referred to ratio and say this: Knob Creeks Mash Bill is somewhere around 75% Corn, 13% Rye, and 12% Malted Barley. This is considered a ‘Low Rye’ mash bill and it would be the same used at the Jim Beam distillery for Baker’s and Booker’s as well. Basil Hayden’s uses the Old Grand-Dad mash bill, which is ‘High-Rye, with a touch less corn and rye making up 25-30% of the mash.
$42.99
The latest iteration of Jim Beam Black features a stark, no BS label that sticks to telling you need to know without the floral text and busy background. Bottled at 45% and at least 7 years of age.
Producer Description
"Aged years longer than our original Jim Beam, Jim Beam Black has a full-bodied taste with smooth caramel and warm oak notes. It takes on a unique flavor that’s made to be sipped and savored. We’re proud of this longer time in cask, and we’re making a firm commitment to our drinkers to always age Jim Beam Black for those seven years."
$53.99
If you like your bourbon full-flavoured and rich in texture then this is the one for you! Toffee, fruity, leathery notes and 94 proof to boot.
Produced by Heaven Hill Distillers and Distilled by their Bernheim Distillery in Louisville, KY, The Elijah Craig Small Batch used to carry an age statement of 12 years old, however, that was replaced by the Small Batch. It is typically made in batches of up to 200 barrels aged 8-12 years old.
$58.79
Breaking & Entering American Whiskey is crafted by St George Spirits of Alameda, California. It is a blend of Rye and Bourbon sourced from both Kentucky and Tennessee along with St George Distillery's own whiskey that they produce in house. Bottled at 45% ABV.
St George Distillery has been in operation since 1982 and produces a variety of different spirits, including Gin, Eau de vies, Absinthe, and Whiskey.
From The Producer
"We deliberately chose the name Breaking & Entering in order to be transparent about the fact that we use barrels we pilfered from other distilleries to make this whiskey—and to distinguish our barrel-thieving side hobby from our own longstanding in-house whiskey program."
$82.99
This is Michter's Flagship Bourbon, bottled at 45.7%, it is excellent value.
While the Michter’s name has a long and storied history, the Michter’s Distillery of Louisville, KY has only been in operation since 2015. Any whiskey bottled that is older than that was sourced from other distilleries, typically within Kentucky. Luckily, the quality of anything bottled with the Michter’s label on it is typically high, regardless of their original provenance.
Other than their single barrel products, Michter’s typically bottles their whiskey from selected small batches of 20 barrels or less.
From the Distillery: "Michter’s US 1 Bourbon is made from a carefully selected mashbill that features the highest quality American corn. It is then matured to the peak of perfection, with barrels often aging in excess of eight years. Truly “small batch,” each batch of our US 1 Bourbon is typically composed of no more than two dozen barrels, leaving no margin for “blending out” imperfection and thus necessitating excellence from every barrel," according to the team at Michter's. It has notes of "rich caramel with balanced vanilla, stone fruit notes, smoky depth, with an oak finish."
