Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 15 minutes.
Distillery: James Beam Distillery.
Proof: 100.
Age: 10 Years.
Mash bill: Undisclosed. (Believed to be 55% Rye/35% Corn/10% Malted Barley).
Price: $70.00.
Appearance: Golden caramel.
Nose
The nose leads with caramel toffee, brown sugar, butterscotch, molasses, leather, vanilla icing, and peanuts. Accompanied by a complex mix of sage, matcha tea, eucalyptus, and mint, with apricots, cinnamon spice, and pine. I love this flavor profile. The complexity and balance of the sweet oak and herbal flavors are pretty incredible. Top that off with a good amount of vanilla and some Beam nuttiness, and you have yourself a glass that’s hard to keep your nose out of.
Palate
With a medium-creamy mouthfeel, the nose moves onto the palate with brown sugar, caramel toffee, butterscotch, peanuts, apricots, orange citrus, vanilla, sage, eucalyptus, and green tea. A perfect amount of white pepper spice enters mid-sip, which balances the sweeter oak flavors without overpowering the palate. The peanut is more upfront, but, like every other note in this profile, it is well-balanced. This is a very easy sipper that’s impressively flavorful for being 100-proof.
Finish
White pepper spice lingers in the cheeks, accompanied by oak, peanuts, sage, green tea, apricots, and pipe tobacco for a long and delicious oak-forward finish.
Conclusion
Knob Creek 10 Year Rye is better and much more complex than I expected. I love the sweet and rich caramel barrel-influenced flavors mixed with the complex herbal rye notes. All of which are wonderfully balanced with a moderate amount of Beam nuttiness running through it, with the perfect amount of rye spice to top off this delicious pour.
For perspective and fun, I compared the KC 10 Year Rye, to the KC 7 Year Rye and a 6-year, 7-month KC Single Barrel r/bourbon “Triple Barrel Tangle #3” pick. The 7 Year Rye has a similar but much lighter flavor profile than the 10 Year Rye with significantly less oak and herbal notes. Although there’s only a three-year difference in age, the 7 Year tastes much younger in comparison, with a thinner mouthfeel and a much shorter finish. This makes me wonder what the oldest age barrels are in the 10 Year. I’m not trying to throw shade at the KC 7 Year Rye, but the 10 Year has so much more depth and complexity that the two aren’t in the same league. The 115-proof Triple Barrel Tangle #3 has more punch and spice with some of the same rich oak and herbal flavors as the 10 Year Rye. Still, the 10 Year Rye was still much more complex despite being 15 points lower in proof.
I know I said it before, but I can’t stress enough how much flavor the 10 Year Rye packs for being 100 proof. Would I love to try the 10 Year Rye at around 107 to 110 proof? Absolutely! But I’m not complaining with the proof that it’s at either. It’s a super enjoyable and flavorful pour as it is. It’s without a doubt, one of the best bourbon drinker’s ryes I’ve come across. I hope Beam plans to keep this release in their core lineup for as long as they can.
Rating: 7.5/10.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
