Knob Creek Quarter Oak

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• DISTILLERY – Jim Bean/Knob Creek Distillery
• REGION – Clermont, KY
• AGE – NAS (Bourbon aged in quarter oak is done for 4 years)
• STRENGTH – 50% (100 Proof)
• MASH BILL – 77% Corn, 13% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
• MSRP – $50

GLANCE

A nice deep golden honey appearance to it and has medium viscosity.

NOSE

On the nose I got notes of leather, honey, maple syrup, deep vanilla, raisin and dates. Majority of the nose very oak forward as expected with some pepper like spices coming through, as I let it open.

TASTE

The overall mouth feel was light and then dry towards the end. For 100 proof it went down really easy. On the palate I got dried fruits, dates, peaches and towards the middle of the palate and throughout the end of it I got more oakiness/nuttiness. Roasted peanut notes came in and out sporadically. In the beginning I got baking spices and hints of dark chocolate.

FINISH

For 100 proof, the finish is relatively long and you get a nice deep Kentucky hug. Here I was able to pick on more of the sweetness such as sugary syrup, cinnamon and dried fruits with baking spices and nuttiness primarily towards the end of the finish.

CLOSING REMARKS

I definitely like the direction Knob Creek is taking with these releases. More experimental and innovative. Which is what will keep them competitive in the long run. Knob Creek’s Quarter Oak is another finished bourbon in their lineup. They take normal Knob Creek bourbon and then age it for four years in a quarter of the size of their traditional 52 gallon oak barrels. Then some undisclosed amount of this quarter oak aged bourbon is married with their regular knob creek bourbon.

Knob Creek Quarter Oak is NAS. Assuming their knob creek bourbon that they are using is traditionally 9 years old, and marrying it to the 4 year aged quarter oak bourbon you are looking at a 13 year old bourbon for $50. The goal here by the distillery is to finish their bourbon in such a way were they deepen the wood flavor and have a bourbon with an increased intense contact with the wood.

They definitely achieved a very oak forward bourbon which surprisingly doesn’t completely mask the other flavors. At the same time, the oakiness and nuttiness seems to take over what I am tasting at times. It’s sort of a battle zone of notes coming in and out and me trying to grab them before they disappear. The flavor profile can get quite complex with lot of sweet notes, baking spices, and nuttiness but overall the bourbon is unbalanced in its flavors. Creating for a not a smooth drinking experience. I mean the bourbon tastes so unbalanced that it follows through in the finish. There I got a lot of sweet notes from caramel to dried fruits and then nuttiness/oakiness coming in and out. I like the experimental approach but in the end this ain’t it.

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