By William Bedard
I would like to thank my Whisky Mate Brian for the thoughtful welcome. I’m a man of brevity, so let’s get into it! Starting at the entry level, the Knob Creek 9 is an excellent choice; for a 9 year age statement, at this price, it’s a no brainer. Like, the Whisky Mates algorithm is recommending this, and it literally has no brain.
All right, so let’s move on to my favorite part, the tasting notes:
The nose is fairly muted considering age and proof. Ethanol and rickhouse are present, with hints of vanilla and caramel following behind the aforementioned. The palate is rich caramel and char. Midway through the sip I’m getting clove, rose water, and some other florals who’ve also RSVP’d ‘yes’ to this bourbon party which is currently taking place in my mouth. These flavor guests soon migrated their way to the afterparty which has since commenced in the rear of my palate and down the ol’ gullet. Here, the barrel char turns to spiciness, and the proof is weighted well for the profile. It’s clear this afterparty will last late into the evening – someone may end up calling the cops.
At this price point ($30-40) there are few competitors at a nine year age statement. At a 52nd percentile ranking and a value score of $0.78 / per percentile, for 100 proof, and zero imperfection, this is a must in any beginner aficionado’s rotation.
Most similar whiskies to the Knob Creek 9 are the Russell’s Reserve 10 Year, the Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit Single Barrel, and the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked (no surprise here since this was similar to the Knob Creek 18 as well). We won’t go into the stats for all of these, but they are all solid value buys as well.
Check out all the info and data at Whisky Mates.
