Knob Creek Straight Bourbon Small Batch 12 Year Whiskey

This is a mature, high-proof Kentucky straight bourbon: 12 years in charred white oak, bottled at 100 proof by Jim Beam Distillery under the Knob Creek name. It suits the seasoned bourbon drinker who wants depth and structure rather than easy sweetness, though a curious newcomer to older bourbon will find plenty to learn from it with a few drops of water. The nose leads with cola, dark chocolate, maple syrup and Luxardo cherries, with roasted walnut and licorice root underneath. The palate is chewy and tannic, carrying candied ginger, cooked berries and black tea, and the finish lingers on chocolate-covered cherries and white pepper. What sets it apart on the shelf is the pairing of a real age statement with a proof that keeps the flavor intense, so it rewards slow sipping neat yet still stands up in an Old Fashioned or Manhattan. We carry it because it shows what a dozen years in new charred oak do to a corn-dominant small batch bourbon, and it does so with real character.