Heavy drinking day today. Had about 3/4th of an ounce of the rye in the previous post this morning. Now I have about 2.5 ounces of bourbon sitting next to me.
Both of the below bourbons are under $50 per 750ml bottle, so both are in the affordable category.
Bourbon #1 is
Knob Creek 100 proof Small Batch and I don't recall the price but I think it was about $40 and bourbon #2 is
Knob Creek 120 proof Single Barrel which is marked with a silver label proclaiming that it was specially picked by Booker Noe himself. OK. Whatever. Anyway, it was priced at $48.99, just inside the 'affordability' category of under $50.
Both are aged 9 years.
To my eye, the 120 proof Single Barrel has a little darker tint to it, but both are a nice rich dark amber.
To my nose the 120 proof hits you like a baseball bat with the scent of alcohol, once you get past that you pick up some butterscotch and vanilla. But it takes a moment to get past that alcohol. The 100 proof, by contrast, doesn't hit you with the alcohol but rather you get some vanilla, and maybe some spices that hit your nose.
Picking up the 100 proof and taking a sip you get some very nice sweetness followed by a little peppery spice at the back of the mouth. When it goes down you have a very long warm finish, you get some tingling of mouth and some belly warmth that lingers. Its not a hot burn, but it is a warmth that stays with you and it really has a bit of a delayed reaction. Switching to the 120 proof I found a sweeter and easier to drink bourbon that also has a long, but delayed finish, and a hotter finish. The burn was not the most intense I've sampled, but it was more of a belly burn than a belly warmth. Despite that I enjoyed the flavor in my mouth a lot, very sweet up front and yet not as typically spicy in the back of the mouth. It has more of a sweet to savory transition which seemed to also coat the mouth with a rich coating. It tasted so good I went back for a second sip, the initial impressions were repeated. If I stopped this comparison here I would simply throw away the bottle of 100 proof and keep the 120 as the clear winner. I'm not a fan of the heat on the finish of the 120 proof Single Barrel, but everything else about it is just so darn good. In the spirit of fairness I went back to the 100 proof and it was a repeat of my eariler impressions, its just not quite as good as the 120.
On to the ice. . .
Small cubes added to each glass and allowed to melt a bit.
The 100 proof Small Batch, with ice, is very good stuff. The finish is shorter and considerable more tame, the spices are sharpened and the up front sweet flavor is maintained.
The 120 proof Single Barrel, with ice, loses some of its sweetness and some of its richness, but is also tamed down on the finish to something that is manageable. Its easier to drink with a single cube but its, in some ways, less enjoyable too.
Pick your poison, both are very good. I'd have to give the nod to the
120 proof Knob Creek Single Barrel but with the caveat that you need to expect a moderately hot finish.