Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Bourbon W-L F-05 R-031 (Binny's Beverage Depot)

Taste: Neat 2 oz. in a glen cairn with and without water. Background: This is a Binny's barrel selection that is 14 years old! It is not cask strength, but at the cut 120 proof I would guess very close to it. Nose: (4.75) upfront caramel, vanilla, oak, and some heat. The ethanol is present but not overly done. No disguising this is a serious bourbon. Palate (4.75): The vanilla and caramel melds wonderfully. I am immediately reminded of caramel cream, "bullseye" candy. The mouthfeel is buttery and soft. There is a chewy, butterscotchiness at the back palate. Wonderful taste with super good balance. Just a hint of Beam peanuts towards the end makes this a liquid ice cream sundae without loosing its alcohol oomph. Finish (5.0): Oak, brown sugar, butterscotch, vanilla, and browned butter that lasts for days. It is the kind of finish that makes you want more. I like that a lot. This is how a bourbon needs to finish. Overall: Tasted this along side Little Book #3, KC Silver Anniversary, and Booker's Centercut in a blind pour. Here is how I picked it-- KC Binny's, Center Cut, 25th Anniversary, and Little Book. That said ALL 4 of these bottles are absolutely outstanding! I think what draws me most to the Binny's pick is the incredibly rich balance this achieved. I may be biased, but with the exception of Basil Hayden's and the shelf Jim Beam white label (and even that is a good rail whiskey), I find most of these KC picks, one time releases, and Booker's to be truly exceptional.

Nose... This immediately stands out. While there's a definite proof impact in the nose, the aging has developed such sweet characteristics that it's almost like you're at a local ice cream shop taking in the air... Appearance... Thanks to the aging, this has a beautifully rich medium to dark mahogany color that easily conveys the flavor you were about to experience... Taste... Huge flavors. Spice galore, pepper, a multitude of different ice cream sundae flavors from the nuts to the vanilla and butterscotch, rounding out with tobacco, coffee, and leather; this bourbon has it all... Overall... Get yourself a bottle. The current buyer for Binny's couldn't say enough about this barrel. It's legitimate in terms of overall taste and value. At $40 for a barrel proof with this complexity is why Binny's has such a great Private Selection portfolio. This is a must-have, and drinking it neat is like an ice cream sundae slowly melting away but still good enough to scoop up towards the end...

This one starts sweet and finishes with a burn, reminding you that sometimes whiskey can taste very much like the potent liquor described in literature. Upon contact with the tongue, there are hints of pear, apple, a bit of honey, and even a faint trace of anise; but you don't have much time to ponder it, as soon as it reaches the back of the mouth and throat, you'll be making expressions of intense reaction (and/or faces, a reference you'll grasp if you ever watched that poor HBO show VINYL). Which is to say: Occasionally, those of us who enjoy smelling, sipping, and savoring forget that this stuff is meant to be intense. Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon is intense, with a touch of sophistication initially. I suppose it's akin to a mullet.

Quite strong. Acceptable.