Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye (2018)
Jim Beam is the largest bourbon whiskey producer in the world. Seriously, it’s huge. In 2020, Jim Beam surpassed 11 million cases sold, up from 10.4 million in 2019 and 9.7 million in 2018. The only brand to outsell them was Jack Daniel’s, the best-selling American whiskey brand in the world according to The Spirits Business.
11 million cases - 66 million 750ml bottles. Approximately a bottle sold for one in every 6 Americans. The numbers are mind-boggling.
Despite being not only one of the biggest producers but also one of the oldest, Jim Beam doesn’t have a reputation for diversifying their products. Big moves like introducing Booker’s Bourbon and the rest of the Small Batch Collection (Knob Creek Bourbon, Basil Hayden Bourbon, and Baker’s Bourbon) in 1992 are known because they are so singular.
Even line extensions and experiments virtually always revolve around the bourbon - think about the Heritage bottlings, the single barrel programs for Knob Creek and others, and the Baker’s Bourbon evolution. Whatever finishes, grains, or aging techniques were involved, they all centered around the bourbon.
Arguably the most significant new product line for Jim Beam has been Freddie Noe’s Little Book series, though even this has its caveats. Freddie is the 8th-generation Beam in the line, the heir-apparent after his father, Fred Noe and grandfather Booker Noe, and a proven entity in his own right. Beam-Suntory recognized Freddie’s experimental spirit by giving him what amounts to his own laboratory to craft new Little Book whiskies, ones that aren’t always bourbons or even strictly American whiskies.
So with Little Book considered a side-line project, if a well-regarded and interesting one, we come back to Jim Beam being a bourbon-centric company.
Maybe that’s ok, though. Just last year, Beam celebrated its 225th anniversary, with a pause only for Prohibition. One can hardly argue that they’re holding themselves back by not expanding more intentionally beyond bourbon.
And yet, there is one area where Beam has experimented and has implemented a core product extension to limited success: rye.
There are two regular rye releases from Jim Beam: Jim Beam Pre-Prohibition Style Rye and Knob Creek Rye, general release and single barrels. Joining those two are a smattering of limited editions including several Knob Creeks, Basil Hayden Rye, and the granddaddy of them all, Booker’s Rye.
Side note: to give it its due, Booker’s Rye is flat-out legendary. I’ve tried and reviewed it, and it’s easily one of the best rye whiskies I’ve ever tasted. Top 5, maybe top 3 without question. In context, though, it’s not due too much credit. It was a one-off production, distilled and barreled by Booker Noe before his passing and bottled by his son Fred in 2016. There are no known plans to re-release a similar product at a similar age or with comparable stats. In many ways, despite its incredible status, it is very much an exception, not a rule.
The Knob Creek ryes are also generally regarded as “lesser” than their bourbon counterparts. Even before Beam dropped the age statement of their single barrel bourbon picks from 13-15 years to around nine years, the rye was already closer to six years and proofed down to 115 rather than the bourbon’s 120.
Personally, with the Knob Creek Rye Single Barrels I’ve tried, they’ve all been meh. The best one, chosen by Mid-Valley Wine and Spirits and the New Jersey Bourbon & Yacht Club, was very good-to-great but took 30 minutes to open. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going through multiple products in a night to taste, I’m not waiting 30 minutes. Maybe - just maybe - if I’m sipping to sip, I’ll wait, but the point of pouring is to drink.
According to Jim Beam’s website, their Jim Beam Rye “pays homage to one of our family’s oldest recipes and is distilled according to the same exacting standards that have governed Jim Beam for more than 200 years”. What “paying homage” to a recipe means is outside my pay grade, but hell if I know anyway. The Basil Hayden Rye is no more exciting, unfortunately, as they missed the brand’s biggest drawback: adherence to a low-proof bottling.
The Knob Creek Rye website is even more perplexing. The tasting notes are basic to the point of insult. “Taste: bold rye spiciness…”, “Aroma: Expansive notes of herbs and rye with nuances of oak.”
Thinly veiled translation: this rye tastes like rye. Someone didn’t run this past the D-U-H test.
Scroll down to the reviews for an extra dose of WTF: the second review visible is a 3-out-of-5-bottle review titled “nothing wrong with it”. The third? “Very good.” A ringing endorsement indeed.
To get to the bottle at hand, I took a chance with it for two reasons: one, it was cask strength, and the only Knob Creek Rye I’ve truly enjoyed was the cask strength around 127+ proof. Two, it was $60, basically the same price as a single barrel but three years older and with a few more proof points. I wasn’t expecting Booker’s Rye levels of goodness, but certainly a step up from the “regular” Knob Creek Rye.
There are subtle differences in this limited release - added notes of toasted honey, the Beam peanut note playing a more prominent role - but ultimately it isn’t enough of a difference for me to race out and find a few more, especially with so many brands putting out ryes that I would run out and buy.
I get what Beam and Knob Creek more specifically are aiming for, but I don’t get why. It’s not carving out a new niche nor differentiating itself as a clear, unique rye profile. At the end of the day, Knob Creek’s own tasting notes are spot on: this rye tastes like a rye. And if that’s the best job the highest-selling bourbon brand in the world can do, save the capacity and challenge Jack Daniel’s instead.
Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye (2018) Whiskey: Specs
Classification: Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Origin: Jim Beam Distillery
Mashbill: Undisclosed
Proof: 119.6 (59.8% ABV)
Age: NAS (Seems to be 9 Years)
Location: Kentucky
Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye (2018) Rye Price: $70
Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye (2018) Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Dark amber.
Nose: Warm, like a nut brittle. Classic rye in many ways, pepper, herb, oak, and sweetness, but there’s also some of that classic Beam peanut. Toast with dark honey, maybe some roasted dates.
Palate: Even closer to a classic rye profile, pepper and oak stronger here than on the nose. That dark honey is a great sweet counterpart, like a cinnamon stick in a Hot Toddy. Mouthfeel is oily, slightly tingly, coats my tongue lightly and in the corners. Effervescent and opens more roasted peanuts.
Finish: Almost nonexistent - a shame, because for a second it tastes promising, then it just disappears. Flavor and feeling evaporate.
Overall: Classic rye with a honey and peanut tint. The nose and profile are right down the middle, tasty but not much to differentiate it. The finish or lack thereof flat-out ruins what could be on this pour. A shame - missing that component knocked a full half-point off the score right to start with.
Final Rating: 6.0
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
More Rye Reviews
