306. Knob Creek 18 Year Bourbon Review

Welcome to another trip down the Bourbon Road with your hosts Jim and Mike. So grab a glass of your favorite bourbon and kick back.

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Hello everybody. I'm Jim Shannon and I'm Mike Hyatt. This is the bourbon road. And today, Mike, it's another craft distillery Monday. And as we say, sometimes we have a big boy on and today we do have a big boy on, but it's not just, uh, your run of the mill whiskey, is it?

No, it's not. It's, uh, this is one of our, both of our favorites. Actually, we're going to be drinking some knob Creek tonight. Um, this is their new 18 year old Jim.

And you know that the number 18 scares me just a little bit because we've had their nine year phenomenal. We've had their 12 year extra phenomenal. We've had their 15 year. You know, yeah, I prefer the 12th. So a lot of oak in the 15, it's a good whiskey, no doubt about it. And there's probably a lot of people out there that say that's my jam, but for me, a little too much oak. So I was thinking, here comes the 18. And this is probably going to be way overrope, right?

Well, you, you might think that I'm not positive. It is. Um, we'll, we'll find out. I haven't sipped on it at all. I haven't touched it to my lips. Um, I'm, I've been waiting steadily, patiently. Um, You know, I don't know. I'm excited about it. Cause it's knob Creek and you know, Freddie no has kind of not taken over there, but he is staring a ship kind of right now. Right.

Yeah. I mean, he has taken the reins. Let's say he's, he's not. Soul man in charge by any means, but he has been given a little bit of rope. Hasn't he?

Yeah. So, um, which is nice. It's real nice. And like you said, Jim, we've, there's not a knob Creek that we haven't had. Um, we've tried them all. Um, I like every one of them. Even the maple one has its moments, right?

Yeah. And you know, knob Creek is known for its proof. It's always, uh, you know, a relatively. higher proof whiskey compared to, you know, your averages. Uh, but the maple, that's the one that's at 90 proof, right?

Yeah. So for you folks that don't know about knob Creek knob Creek was introduced in 1992. And there's a Knob Creek farm not too far from there, from Jim Beam Distillery, the James B. Beam Distillery. That's what the Knob Creek is named for, for a farm. So a lot of people, if you're wondering when it happened, it was 1992. A lot has changed in Bourbon since then though. And they've been releasing these nine year, 12 year, 15 year, and now 18 year. Are they going to get any older than this, Jim?

Well, I would think as long as they can maintain the profile as something that's appealing to people, that they might bump it just a little bit more. I would love to see a 20 year try at it. I mean, you've had the mickters 20. What'd you think about that?

Oh, man, it's something special. It's definitely something special. Well, folks, this has a 75% corn, 13% or high and a 12% malted barley. That's the match bill on this, uh, on all the knob Creek. Not a high ride, right, Jim?

Uh, not a high ride, but you know, there, I think that. At least from my perspective, I think knob Creek has always been known as kind of a. An oaky bourbon, right? Kind of a bourbon that's got a great deal of barrel influence.

A lot of, a lot of smoke in it, right? Uh, when people say oak and that, you get a little bit of barrel effect in there, that smoke that just, it's something nice about it. Very tasty. Um, so this right here, I'm going to tell some listener or something, Jim, that how tired we are. Cause we went to the Kentucky bourbon festival for for, uh, you went for four days straight. I went for three days straight and we're a little tired. And I'm searching the internet and I was like, how old is this bourbon? I keep looking for it. I was like, how old is this stuff? Uh, the folks is 18 years old. We've said it plenty of times. That's just how we're kind of both tired. We're both been cutting grass and weed eating and stuff, trying to catch up for what's that all saying, Jim, if you want to play, you gotta pay.

It's right. You got to pay to play.

So when I dropped off samples, you're out there, you're slinging that weed eater around, weren't you?

I was slinging that weed eater. I'm not real skillful at it, but I managed to get the job done tonight. That's all that matters. The job gets done.

So this is a very pricey whiskey or bourbon whiskey. This is 150 MSRP. I was lucky enough to grab a bottle at the old Kroger here in town. Um, with taxes, about $165 is what you're going to pay for an 18 year old bourbon. That's not too damn bad though, Jim, right?

I'd say it's not bad at all. I'd say not bad at all. I'm surprised we didn't get given a bottle, but you know what? We've received just a few things from, from James B beam recently. So I feel pretty fortunate.

Yeah. We're not going to get it all the time, but I did purchase this one. If anybody's wondering out there, um, from the old Kroger. Had to walk out my head down the shame. I was like, God dang, they got me. They got me. Jim got me with that 18 year. Um, but $10 a year is usually what they say. That's, you know, I saved a little money cause really 180 bucks. Yeah. Um, and this is cheaper than some other whiskies out there. Now this is a hundred proof, like you said, Jim. So what do we have rather seen this at like one 20 or something?

I'm, I'm thinking, here's what I'm thinking, Mike. I'm thinking they know what they're doing. And the reason they put it out at 100 was probably because at one 20, it would have been overpowering. And I haven't tasted it yet either. You and I are in the same boat here. You've got the bottle. We have neither one tasted it, but we've got some reference material here. We know what the 12 and the 15 are like. We've got an idea what the 18 might be like. And at too high a proof, it might be a bit overwhelming.

Yeah, we're going to find out. Maybe, maybe you're right. Maybe it'd be too much oak in it. Um, I'm super excited about that, Jim. Let's stop talking. Let's get to the whiskey.

Yeah. I mean, our listeners are probably like, this is getting old guys get to drink. Oh my gosh. The first little bit of nose on it. I get cherry. I get like. liquor cherries, like very, like cherries that have been soaked in bourbon for a very long time.

I gotta agree. I was going to, I was going to say some deep, uh, stone fruits in there. Um, I don't know if a cherry is a stone fruit, but I would, I can definitely get that now.

Yeah. I think all the sweetness has gone from it. I think it's like, A very, very drunken cherry, like a cherry that's been like literally steeped in bourbon for 20 years.

Drunken cherries, Jim, that's, is that a new thing? I've never heard that before.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Mike, I need to move on from stewed fruit. I use that too much. So drunken cherries is my new one.

Drunken cherries. I love it. I love it. That's, uh, that's beautiful actually. Um, A lot of oak in this as you would imagine, but not overpowering, right?

Yeah. And this is all nose we're talking about so far. We haven't started to taste it yet. This is all what we're, we're getting on the nose. And I have to say that it's not too much alcohol in the nose. So 100 is probably nice for that aspect of it.

You know, you say it doesn't have a lot of sweetness, but I do get the caramel and vanilla in the nose on this. That cherry is just overpowering on it though. Man. Little smokiness in there, just that tad whiff of one, which I would expect more oak and more smoke out of this.

Yeah, I get a little bit of a freshness out of it. And that's kind of odd coming out of an 18 year old whiskey, but I get a little bit of a sort of a minty freshness out of it on the nose. It's kind of an underlying note. Um, I would say most, the most prominent notes on it are a deep caramel, uh, that drunken cherry. Uh, that oak effect that's kind of, uh, definitely upfront on this, but a little bit of that minty freshness is coming through and I'm surprised at that. And I don't know where it's coming from, but it's welcoming.

Yeah. A little bit of cereal on this. I'm not getting a bunch of like nuts on this, but cereal notes on this, like, uh, Cheerios, uh, for some reason that cereal grain. Yeah, just heck.

I'm ready to drink this thing, Jim. Let's taste it. Cheers.

So a lot of caramel minus the sweetness.

Yeah, I would tend to agree with you there. There, there is some oak in that sucker. Um, it's just a little, little bit drying.

I feel like it, it drinks hotter than a hundred proof. Really? Like, yeah, I feel like it does. I feel like it, it drinks like, uh, like a foolproof whiskey, but it's not, it's a hundred proof whiskey.

Yeah. See, I don't, I'm not getting that on this is where we're going to, we're going to vary right here. I actually feel like as a little bit of watery on it. Um, Maybe I can taste that limestone water that's been in there that proved it down. I'm not positive, but you know, I've always say whenever you put ice in your glass and you pour whiskey over it and water sit down, always give us a bitter taste to me. And that's what I'm getting on. That's just a tad bit of bitterness. Maybe like you bit into a tart apple.

You know, Mike, I think I've got, I think I've got the solution to our disparity here. You and I disagree a little bit on this and here's, here's what I'm going to say. Have you ever ground up a little bit of coffee and made a pot of coffee and it came out a little strong and bitter? And you're like, Oh, that's too much. I put too much in it and you add a little bit of water to it. Have you ever done that? Yes, sir. Not that it's the best thing to do with coffee, but if you do it, I think you get that watery effect, but you still have that coffee that just. It's got that extra amount of boldness to it. That extra flavor that, that dryness this, this has that a lot of oak and a lot of caramel. That's got that cherry note. And I just think it, it comes out a little powerful. And I think when you add the water to it, it might seem like it's been watered down a little bit for me. It still seems like it's a, uh, a big boys whiskey.

Now that cherry, you say sweetness on my third sip of this. I did get that cherry waft and I did finally get that a little bit of, uh, You know, maybe 110 proof on this thought, you know, it took the third bite for me to divide in a little bit, but it's a beautiful whiskey. It's definitely a thinker's whiskey. I'm not calling it watery by any means listeners. Could it stand to be a little bit more maybe for me? Um, but still a beautiful expression from knob Creek. It's not as tannic is the 15 year and not, not as okay. Right.

Yeah. I would actually say that, you know, the, the 12 year is my jam. I love the 12 year, the 15, eh, it's, you know, it's good, but it's not exactly what I would choose. If I could choose the 12 or the 15, I choose the 12 every day. This is, uh, this is a little better than the 15.

Yeah. I would like to do this nine year halfway, you know, you get nine year and this 18 year and see what the difference is. That would be a good comparison. That might be a whole nother show where we drink through the Knob Creek again. I think we did that in the past, um, and see what these all bring to the table. Um, all the age Knob Creeks. I'm wondering how the knob knob Creek eight let me say that I'm wondering how the knob Creek nine year compares to this right here still this is a like you said Jim the 12 year is the spot spot on. I know a lot of people have so much love for that. expression, but this right here has its own thing, you know, to drink an 18 year old bourbon. Think back 18 years.

So Mike, what were you doing in 2004 when these barrels were laid down?

Oh man, I was probably breaking ice on the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinac or just moving up there to break ice in the Great Lakes. Man, I was like, there's some cold ass winters up there, Jim. I'll tell you that. Cause we broke ice right up into like, I want to say may or June one year. So yeah, these barrels, it'd been some cold winters.

Wow.

I still get that cherry note on this, Jim. A little bit of caramel in there. I know listeners like he's got a cereal, but I still get the Cheerios on this. Maybe just a tad bit of honey, but like you said, there's very little sweetness in there.

Yeah. It's like caramel without the sweetness. It's like, how do you extract all the sweetness out of caramel, but you still have caramel. You know, that's kind of what I'm getting. Uh, the oak is ever present. The cherry is there. It's not a sweet cherry. It's a drunken cherry. Uh, you know, this, this whiskey is definitely a porch whiskey. It's a sipping whiskey. It's one to sit with your very best friend and enjoy. I would say without a doubt, if you're a cigar smoker, this is scar whiskey.

Yeah, you're, you're spot on right there. I think, Jim, it's not too spicy. It's, it's not too sweet. It's not too spicy. This is just that mid level, a good bourbon, like you said, at a Hunter proof, you'd sit and sip on it for a long time. And it really, really enjoy it. I think about life and stuff. A little bit of baking spot, sweet baking spices in there. I was thinking, you know, Uh, there's, there's a little bit of clove and sediment in this right here, that spice that you're looking for, for, you know, like a fall, right. Um, especially clothes.

Absolutely. So Mike, what are we talking about here? We're talking about the knob Creek releases, the 18 year old knob Creek. It was released this year. It's relatively new on the shelf. Where can they get it? Just about anywhere. Right.

Yeah, there's bottles out there to be had. I'm not sure of how large the release on this is. So our release number on this right here says KC001. When you looked at the 15-year-old, it said KC001 on it, DSP230. 18 years old, 100 proof. Uh, this, the tag on this is honoring the 30th anniversary of knob Creek. We'd brought that up before that knob Creek started in 1992. Talking about years, Jim, that was the year I joined the service right there, buddy.

Yeah, that was three years after I got out. So people now know the age difference between us, right?

Yeah, they might. They might know a little bit. We're still two old fellas drinking and enjoying whiskey. Jim, obviously this was a buy for me because I went and bought it. I love to see old expressions like this that aren't overly oaky. That's the biggest takeaway on this one right now. I can understand why Freddie and Fred probably proofed this down 200 proof, maybe to take that oakiness out of it.

Yeah, I think it was a wise choice. I think this drinks well at 100 proof. I think it was probably a wise choice. My perspective is that at 120, this would have been probably close to undrinkable. I think 100 proof is perfect for it. Michael, what was the price again?

$150 MSRP. It'll be about 165 with taxes here in Kentucky. Probably about the same most places right there, but $150. I don't know if I would overpay for that right there, Jim. That's to me, that's a pretty good price.

I would say if you find it at retail price, it's a good pickup. We always say that it's $10 per year. So at 18 years, you know, $180 would be the going price for this. You can, you could find it around the 160 range with tax. I would say that's probably a fair deal.

Yeah, I could like you said man You got some great friends and it comes in a you saw the box gym. It comes in a really really nice wooden box I don't know if that it looks like walnut to me. It feels light for walnut, but it it looks like walnut. So really nice box Nice to display. If you wanted to gift this to somebody, uh, that's a super nice gift. If you want to give Jim and I another bottle, we'll take it. Uh, we'll drink it and we'll share it though.

I will absolutely share it. Feel free to bring a bottle of bourbon on the banks and put it on the roadie bar. I'm sure our listeners would enjoy that.

Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure they will heck. I might even bring this bottle right here to share it. I don't know. I see how generous I feel next, you know, at the end of the week here. Um, so it's Monday now this is coming out. Friday night, we'll see what I pack up to take to bourbon on the banks for the roadies to drink. We'll see what Jim packs up. I'm sure we're both going to pack up some mighty nice bottles, but this is a buy all day long for us, Jim. Um, I'd say the finish on this is a medium only though.

Um, yeah. Yeah. It doesn't stick with you a great long time and I'm surprised by that, but I think that has a little to do with the proof. You know, it, it definitely is, uh, it's got a decent finish on it and the flavors are there. It's, it's a pleasant finish. It's just not a long finish. It's probably a medium.

And just, uh, I'd say that average Kentucky hug, you're in a wild cat trapped inside this bottle right here. It's not gonna, it's not going to attack your palate as a gym.

It's not, it does drink in my opinion, a little bit hotter than a hundred proof, but, uh, it doesn't, uh, it definitely doesn't attack your palate.

Well, Jim, another great review on the Bourbon Road, right?

Absolutely. Well, Mike, where can people find us on the internet?

Well, you can find us on tick tock, Instagram, uh, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, man, what else is out there? All kinds of stuff. I might get a video on this on tick tock right here. Um, but we are on tick tock, not dancing, just talking. You'll hear our old deep voices on there. Just, just kind of relaxing. That's us. Um, Yeah, we're going to do it our speed for sure. So check us out there. Also check us out on the bourbon roadies on Facebook. That's our private Facebook group. Almost 3000 people in there. We're getting there. Three rules to join. Do you love bourbon? Hell, who doesn't like bourbon? Are you a 21? Because that's how old you got to be to drink liquor in the United States. And do you agree to play nice? Because we don't tolerate any rudeness. Ain't that right, Jim?

That's absolutely true. We love to invite everybody in to have a good time, not to be chopped off at the knees by somebody who doesn't like what they're drinking. So come in and drink what you like, enjoy yourself, share some pictures, share some whiskey, share some stories. You're always welcome on the bourbon roadies. We also do two shows every single week. Every Monday we'll do a craft distillery episode, just like today's where we'll highlight a single expression. Mike and I will taste it. We'll talk about it. We'll let you know what we think. We'll let you know whether or not we think you should add it to your bar. In this case, I think we're both in agreement. 18 year old whiskey, $160. Little expensive, but definitely properly priced. I think usually it's $10 a year is a good estimate on what something should cost. This one comes in at $160 for 18 years. That's respectable. So give it a shot if you like it, if not find it at a bar, have a pour of it, make up your own mind and then go get a bottle if you like it. We do two shows every single week. We do this Monday episode. Like I just mentioned, we also do a Wednesday episode, which is full length. We'll have a guest on. We'll drink a couple of expressions. We'll deep dive a topic. We hope you listen to both shows every week and Mike, what can they do to make sure they don't miss one?

Well, you need to scroll on up top that app listeners, hit that check sign, that plus sign, that subscribe sign. That app is going to let you know, hey, these two jokers have a show coming out today and you need to listen so you'll know what to buy off that bourbon shelf. Then you need to scroll on down, hit that five star review, leave us some comments. We'd really appreciate it, but you know what's going to happen if you don't. The big bad booty daddy of bourbon. is gonna come to your house. That Buffalo will be dragging that wagon full of Knob Creek 18 year old. He'll drink it all night long. By the end of the night, you'll leave us that five star review and some comments, I guarantee. But seriously, folks, Those five star reviews those comments they open up doors to distilleries lettuce and let us have great guest on our show they put great whiskey in our hands to give great reviews to you let you know what you should be buying probably what you should be buying we really appreciate it.

Mike and I are very approachable. If you see us in town, if you see us at a liquor store at an event, if you see us at a distillery, when you're taking a tour, make sure you walk up to us and say, Hey, introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about your bourbon journey. We'd love to meet all our roadies. If you've got an idea for a guest or a bottle that you feel needs to be on the show, make sure you hop on our website, go to the contact us page, fill it out, send us a message. Mike and I are very responsible. Get back with you. She can always send us an email. I'm Jim at the bourbon road.com. He's Mike at the bourbon road.com. Like we always say, probably the best way just hit up our DMS on Instagram. I'm Jay Shannon 63. I'm big bourbon chief and we'll see you down the bourbon road.