Knob Creek 9 Year Old

Knob Creek was among the first Bourbons I tasted and years later it seems slightly more tamed than my first encounter with it. It doesn't quite pack the same wallop as I remember it having.

Nose: Classic bourbon nose. Molasses, fresh cut sugar cane, brown sugar,syrup, charred oak. This nose has a slight hint of flour as well along with fresh oak,all spice, and resin. Just by the smell you know your going to be drinking a dense and perhaps, challenging Whiskey. I'm up for the challenge! are you?

Palate: Immediately oaky. Rich, intense, full mouth feel but this intensity passed rather quickly. It starts slightly peppery which deceives you into thinking it's setting you up for a wallop and then the charred oak returns once the pepper settles down which is rather quickly and..... nothing. Tastes like your sucking on freshly cut sugar cane. But it's not the palate I expected. It punches lighter, below the weight ingrained in my memory...sigh.

Finish: Rather short to medium. Earthy notes. More charred oak. Some all spice and pine resin. Creamy, slightly vanilla oak notes as well along with some waxy honey comb.

But what of that wallop Whiskey that offered a challenge in my first battle with a bourbon? What of that bruiser that was for me, knob creek?! I just don't know what has happened. This Whiskey seems far from the beast I remember. Maybe it's the quality of this particular batch that's gone down but this knob is just not the same Whiskey I remember. It could also be that now, years later, I have a more discerning palate. But to me, it's less peppery, it's less rich, and just average now. It's palatable now, which makes it decent, but that's all Knob Creek is for me. Whiskey's with less ABV have a much better oomph! than this here Knob. Quite disappointing based on my previous memories. It's still decent though but no longer is it something memorable.

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