| Whiskey | Knob Creek 21 Year Bourbon |
| Distillery | Jim Beam Distillery |
| Region | Clermont, Kentucky |
| Type | Bourbon |
| Mash Bill | 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley |
| Proof / ABV | 100 Proof / 50% ABV |
| Aging | 21 Years |
| Filtration | Chill Filtered |
| MSRP Price | $250 |
| Release Year | 2025 |
Visiting the Knob Creek Distillery at Jim Beam
My dad and I visited Knob Creek and the Jim Beam Distillery in 2023 for a trip for my birthday.
We managed to get a special tasting event for the launch of the new Jim Beam Clermont Steep American Single Malt where we got to taste whiskeys with Fred and Freddie Noe – the creator’s of Booker’s and Little Book whiskey lineup.
During the Knob Creek tour, the hosts asked if anyone was celebrating anything and since it was my birthday, he brought me up to pour whiskey directly from the barrel which was a really cool experience.
We then got to bottle our own bottles of Knob Creek which involved selecting our own bottle, rinsing it with a whiskey wash, and then watching the entire process of the machine moving the bottles through the process of filling, labeling, and at the end, sealing the bottle with wax and letting us put our finger print in the top of the wax seal.
If you ever visit the Jim Beam Distillery, definitely get the upgraded tour that lets you bottle your own bottle. It is a lot of fun.
After Knob Creek, we got to do our tasting with Fred and Freddie where it was a small group of 8 and we got to taste some unique bottles including the new Clermont Steep American Single Malt.
One of the cooler bottles we got to sample was Jim Beam’s experimental batches called the “Distiller’s Share” where they experimented with Brown Rice instead of Rye.
I was quite surprised at how good it was!
It was an all-around great experience and I would definitely recommend checking the Jim Beam tasting and tour schedule if you are planning a trip there.
They do a lot of fun events like this where you can get to know the distillers in tastings and dinner events.
So regardless to say, I have always been a fan of Knob Creek whiskey and Jim Beam products and that is why I was so excited to try this Knob Creek 21 Year release (their oldest aged whiskey to date).
So let’s get into it.
Knob Creek 21 Year Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark Brown Amber
Nose: Excellent toasted oak, heavy vanilla, rich caramel, cinnamon, citrus, green apple, cinnamon apple pie, buttered cinnamon sugar toast, leather, tobacco, cocoa, chocolate, light rye spice
Palate: Bold heavy oak, charred wood, rich caramel, vanilla, apple, black cherry, plum, hints of citrus, cinnamon spice, clove, nutmeg, rye spice, pepper, leather, tobacco
Finish: Extremely rich finish with a nice oaky tannic spice that dries out your mouth like a cask strength despite being only 100 proof. Leaves you with delicious caramel, oak, and fruits with a light note of pepper on the tail end
Is Knob Creek 21 Year an Approachable Whiskey?
Know Creek 21 Year is an extremely smooth whiskey even with the bold oak flavor profile.
My dad explained it perfectly when we were tasting when he said:
"This bottle has all the big, heavy flavors of a cask strength whiskey with none of the heat."
For some background on this, my dad will almost always opt for the cask strength higher-proof bourbons because they usually offer richer and bolder flavors than lower proof bottles since the lower proof are just watered down to reduce the proof-point.
We often have discussions about this where sometimes I will prefer a lower proof bourbon because of its refinement and smoothness despite not being quite as powerful on the flavors.
Basically, the heat and “bite” of some whiskeys doesn’t always justify the flavors of being higher proof for me.
My dad, on the other hand, will almost always push through some heat on the palate if it’s going to give him bigger, bolder flavors.
So when we both tasted this Knob Creek 21 Year, we agreed that this bottle delivers on all the big bold flavors we love with the smoothness and refinement to give us the best of both worlds.
So all that to say…. Yes, this bottle is a very approachable whiskey that nearly everyone will enjoy.
Unless you don’t like oak… which I will cover in the next section.
Is Knob Creek 21 Year Complex?
Knob Creek 21 Year is very complex and offers a lot of depth and layers of flavor.
The nose is one of the nicest I’ve found on a bourbon.
It definitely has the heavy oak that everyone mentions since it was aged in a charred barrel for over 21 years, but it’s not one-dimensional like some other well-aged bourbons – it has well-balanced layers.
Right off the bat, I got delicious caramel, heavy vanilla and rich fruit.
On the nose, I got citrus and apple notes.
On the palate, I also got citrus and apple, but dark fruits like black cherry and plum surfaced.
Behind those flavors, I also got a lot of the traditional aged bourbon notes like leather, tobacco, chocolate, clove, oaky tannic spice, and notes of rye spice and black pepper.
Overall, the complexity on this 21 Year Aged Knob Creek is excellent.
What are Knob Creek 21 Year’s strongest attributes/flavors?
My favorite thing about Knob Creek 21 Year is that so many of the flavors immediately reminded me of some of my favorite foods.
The biggest being cinnamon sugar toast that my grandma used to make us as kids.
It has a nice cinnamon note to it that combines perfectly with the toasted oak, caramel, and brown sugar that was just delicious.
Then those same cinnamon sugar notes combined with the fruits and reminded me of a piece of apple pie with the crunchy caramelized butter and sugar that leaves the crunchy sweet nuggets on top.
But if I had to decide on the strongest attribute of this bottle it would be this…
Knob Creek successfully aged a bourbon for 21 years where each layer of flavor expressed equally and is not overpowered by the extended years in charred oak barrels.
Is Knob Creek 21 Year a go-to whiskey?
If Knob Creek 21 Year weren’t so expensive, it would absolutely be a go-to whiskey.
I would drink this all the time.
My dad and I both went back for 2-3 rounds of tasting and even during this review, I have already poured myself twice as much as I would normally drink during a review.
Granted, I usually just need 1 ounce to review, but this one I have continued pouring to pull out more of the flavors on each sip.
So basically, it comes down to the price point (and limited availability).
Is Knob Creek 21 Year priced accurately to its quality?
This is a difficult question to answer for this bottle.
The MSRP price for Knob Creek 21 Year is $250.
There are not many bottles in my collection that I would pay $250 for… let alone get backups.
To give you an example, some of the bourbon bottles I have done this for would be:
- – George T. Stagg (2022 Release)
- – Old Forester Birthday Bourbon (2021 Release)
- – Jim Beam Lineage (Batch 1)
- – Russell’s Reserve 15 Year
- – Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Triumph
And now, Knob Creek 21 Year.
Granted, I’ve paid over $250 for Scotches a bit more frequently, but overall, it’s not a common price for bourbon despite increasing prices.
So with that being said… Is Knob Creek 21 Year worth its price tag?
For me, yes it was.
It is the oldest aged bourbon in my collection and there is something to be said about the fact that this Knob Creek 21 Year was put into the barrel in 2003-2004.
In addition, you can compare the prices of other 20+ year aged bourbons on the market from the biggest distilleries:
- Eagle Rare 25 Year ($10,000)
- Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year ($450 and $5000+ secondary)
- Eagle Rare Double Eagle Very Rare 20 Year ($2000)
- Michter’s 20 Year Bourbon ($1200)
- Heaven Hill 19 Year Bourbon ($300)
Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to taste any of the whiskeys on this short list to compare quality with except for Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year and we all know how impossible it is to find that bottle.
So my simple answer is yes, this bottle is worth its price tag.
It’s one of the highest aged bourbons that you can find in the entire bourbon market and surprisingly, at a fraction of the price of competitors.
In terms of flavors and quality, it delivers on its price tag with full, rich flavors while still being well-balanced and extremely smooth to drink.
For people who don’t have the budget to spend on $250 dollars, I would recommend the following bottles:
- Knob Creek 12 Year ($70 and excellent)
- Elijah Craig Barrel Proof ($75 but depends on the batch)
- Jack Daniel’s 12 or 14 Year ($90-150)
- Russell’s Reserve 13 Year ($150 but hard to find)
- Booker’s ($99 also depends on batch)
- Little Book ($100-150)
- Joseph Magnus Triple Cask Finished Bourbon ($100)
Conclusion for Knob Creek 21 Year
Overall, Knob Creek 21 Year is delicious.
If I could get this bottle easily and it weren’t so expensive, I would drink it all the time.
The flavors are top-tier and the amount of flavor in a 100-proof bourbon is impressive.
As mentioned earlier in this review, I have always been a fan of Knob Creek and it has been a go-to whiskey of mine for years.
I tasted this bottle side-by-side with Knob Creek 12 Year and Knob Creek 18 Year and it is definitely better than both of them.
The 21 years in oak barrels is front and center without overshadowing the rest of the cast.
My recommendation to you – buy at least one of this bottle if you see it.
If you have the cash to spare I’d probably also buy yourself a backup.
And with that, I’m going to go pour myself a Knob Creek 12 so I don’t start draining this bottle!
Cheers
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