Distillery: Jim Beam
Proof: 100
Age: 15 Years
Mashbill: 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
BACKGROUND: Knob Creek (KC) 15 is a new 2020 release hailing from the Jim Beam distillery. It was a limited release and there are no current plans to make this an ongoing annual release. It comes in a nice wooden box. KC 15 is the oldest release of KC to date. These barrels were carefully selected from certain areas in the warehouses that tend to cater to older bourbons. 15 years old is when the oak notes tend to take over the flavor so barrel selection is key.
NOSE: Oak is immediately prevalent with some nice aged leather, and strong notes of rich caramel. There is a great sensation of waiting for a burn that never comes. There is a light sweetness at the ned, but overall it is a lot of oak (23/25)
PALATE: Up front there is rye spice that opens up to smooth oak, rich caramel, and sweet vanilla all on top of a bed of oak. The palate is a great tangible to the nose. It has vivacious, rich, oily mouthfeel (37/40)
FINISH: The finish is excellent and complex with rich oak, cracked pepper and sweet vanilla (23/25)
VALUE: Knob Creek 15 Year has an SRP of $100 which is pretty pricey but this is a delicious limited release bourbon. (7/10)
Overall: 89/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: This is a classic bourbon that is fantastic and perfectly aged. It is slightly pricey but well worth it at SRP. It is very smooth and enjoyable if you like oak forward whiskeys. This is the oldest release from Knob Creek and it is very good but a little too much oak. We are huge fans of some of their private barrel picks that are in the same age range. Overall this is a very good bourbon whiskey with classic bourbon notes.
Similar & Slightly Better Whiskey: E.H. Taylor Single Barrel
Similar & Equal Whiskey: Weller 12 Year
Similar & Slightly Worse Whiskey: Blanton’s Single Barrel
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Tell us what you think and give us some feedback!
Scoring Legend:
96-100: The perfect dram, juice of the gods
90-95: Near perfect, truly incredible whiskey
85-89: Amazing whiskey, will always try to keep a backup bottle of this
80-84: Very good, some minor flaws here or there
75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink, Will try and keep a bottle on the shelf
70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get this
60-69: Decent, would offer this up to non whiskey drinkers
50-59: Not my cup of tea
Below 50: Give away
