Review #631 - Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon

A Kentucky Straight Bourbon staple - this is Jim Beam's Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon, one of the best-selling bottles in the $25 to $40 range. It boasts a great 9 year age statement, older than most of its peers in the same price bracket; it's also bottled at an elevated strength of 50% ABV (100 proof), while most competitors come with a strength between 40% ABV and 45% ABV.

The Knob Creek brand uses a high-corn bourbon mashbill, with 75% to 77% of the grain being corn; this means that it's likely that 10% to 15% of the grain is rye, which makes this a 'low-rye' bourbon.

Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon

USA - Bourbon

Price: USD 34 (2025)

Age Statement: 9 Years

Strength: 50% ABV

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 4 years; bottles at 50%, 80%, and 40% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: A strong mix of sweetness and nutty scents - peanut, that classic Jim Beam profile. Oak is somewhat strong, with both drying leather and some buttery roundness; accents of brown sugar, vanilla, and occasionally cherry add sweetness.

Palate: Nice richness, somewhat rounded but still a hint of heat from that elevated proof. Brown sugar and oak are the dominant flavors; there's still a nutty note, maybe blanched almond, but it's more subtle. Cardamom and cherry cola are accent notes; it's a medium thickness mouthfeel.

Finish: Butter and honey to start, but the oak grows, making this increasingly dry. Still, there are little detail flavors to seek out: vanilla cola, a hint of cherry, brown sugar, the lightest touch of tobacco smoke. It's a medium length finish.

Final Note: Good bourbon - plenty of flavor, and while it does have some of that classic peanut or almond that we associate with Jim Beam bourbons, there's a strong oak dimension and some other flavor details that add a nice depth to this. It's quite well rounded, and the higher strength really helps the case for this bourbon in comparison to its peers.

Value here is amazing - one of the best bourbons you can get in this price range, at least in our opinion. The solid age statement, the elevated proof point, the range of sweet and dry flavors... it's hard to beat this for $30 to $35.

Our Average Rating: 6.5 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 8.31

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.