Knob Creek 12 Year Small Batch Bourbon

Knob Creek 12 has been popular since it was introduced as a limited release in 2019. A year later it became part of the regular KC line up. All of the Knob Creek 12 reviews I’ve read over the last year were favorable to various degrees, but some varied more than I expected in tasting notes and ratings. It’s understood that while everyone has their own palate, others have mentioned noticeable variations in batches, which is not uncommon. I’m looking forward to checking out what this batch has to offer so let’s get to it.

Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested about 5 minutes.

Distillery: Jim Beam.

Proof: 100.

Age: 12 years.

Mash bill: 75% Corn/ 13% Rye/ 12% Malted Barley.

Price: $69.95 Local.

Appearance: Dark caramel.

Nose

Sweet toffee, peanuts, chocolate, vanilla bean, apples, apricot, cherry with quite a bit of dill and a slight amount of allspice. The oak is wonderful throughout. With some swirling and time, this pour gets sweeter with more fruit, dill and oak coming forward. There is no heat at all on this fantastic nose.

Palate

I’d describe this as having a medium mouthfeel. Much of the nose moves on to the palate with very tasty toffee, peanut and a very good amount of apricot with vanilla and dill. The balance of all these flavors are great. I can’t help but love the oak on this pour. It’s delicious and well balanced playing well with all the other notes. Allspice slowly comes mid sip, staying pretty tame but lasting long into the finish. This is an incredibly easy and very delicious sipper.

Finish

Subtle allspice lingers on the palate along with toffee. Peanut turns into more of subtle pecan along with apricot and dill with and a hint of cherry coming back around. As the allspice fades, the finish continues with very tasty oak and a hint of tobacco lingering for quite a while with some dryness for a subtle but long finish.

Conclusion

It’s easy to see why so many people love Knob Creek 12. I enjoyed this bottle from the start, but couldn’t help wonder what the 2021 limited release of KC12 at cask strength (around 120 proof) would be like. Though I would love the opportunity to try that, I also found myself genuinely appreciating this bottle where it is. Compared to other reviews I’ve read this batch is more fruit forward, which I love, and there’s plenty of Beam nuttiness to make me happy. Worth mentioning again is just how good the oak is and how well it’s balanced. Knob Creek 12 has a classic Kentucky bourbon profile that has something for everyone. It’s not a bottle designed to blow you away with complexity and intensity (like say ECBP), but if you’re Beam fan in the mood for a very easy and delicious sipper, Knob Creek 12 delivers in a big way.

Rating: 7/10.

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.