Full Review

Knob Creek

Knob Creek
10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Category: Rye Whiskey

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 50%
93 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$69

Knob Creek
10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Category: Rye Whiskey

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 50%
Medium golden amber color. Aromas and flavors of cinnamon dusted dark chocolate, pumpernickel, black pepper on vanilla caramels, and five spice with a round, crisp, dry medium body and a tingling, complex, medium-length finish that presents suggestions of pumpernickel, caramel cream on a spiced peach, dark chocolate, and five spice that is heavy on the cinnamon. A beautiful and powerful Rye with enough oak and age to round out the spices and have everything in balance as well as belie the ABV; a sipper that will make a great Old Fashioned or pair with a medium-bodied spicy Nicaraguan cigar.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Spicy & Complex
Aroma Aroma: cinnamon dusted dark chocolate, pumpernickel, black pepper on vanilla caramels, and five spice
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with suggestions of pumpernickel, caramel cream on a spiced peach, dark chocolate, and five spice that is heavy on the cinnamon
Smoothness Smoothness: Tingling
Enjoy Enjoy: in cocktails, neat, on the rocks, with cigars and with drops of water
Cocktail Cocktails: Sazerac, Old Fashioned, Manhattan
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A beautiful and powerful Rye with enough oak and age to round out the spices and have everything in balance as well as belie the ABV; a sipper that will make a great Old Fashioned or pair with a medium-bodied spicy Nicaraguan cigar.

The Producer or Importer

Beam Suntory Inc.

The Producer or  Importer
222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza Ste. 1600
Chicago, IL 60654
USA

Their Portfolio

96 El Tesoro Blanco Tequila 40% (Mexico) $44.00.
93 El Tesoro Blanco Tequila 40% (Mexico) $50.00.
92 El Tesoro Reposado Tequila 40% (Mexico) $65.00.
93 El Tesoro Añejo Tequila 40% (Mexico) $85.00.
94 El Tesoro Extra Añejo Tequila 40% (Mexico) $150.00.
95 El Tesoro Mundial Collection Laphroaig Edition Añejo Tequila 40% (Mexico) $175.00.
94 El Tesoro Mundial Collection Knob Creek Rye Edition Añejo Tequila 40% (Mexico) $175.00.
88 Haku Vodka 40% (Japan) $27.00.
88 Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 40% (USA) $17.00.
93 Jim Beam Black Extra-Aged Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 43% (USA) $22.00.
92 Jim Beam Devil’s Cut Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 45% (USA) $22.00.
92 Jim Beam Double Oak Twice Barreled Straight Bourbon Whiskey 43% (USA) $22.00.
94 Jim Beam Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 47.5% (USA) $39.00.
89 Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 40% (USA) $16.00.
93 Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey 50% (USA) $36.00.
93 Knob Creek 7 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey 50% (USA) $36.00.
93 Knob Creek 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey 50% (USA) $69.00.
93 Maker’s Mark 46 French Oaked Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 47% (USA) $35.00.
95 Maker’s Mark Limited Edition 11 & 12 Year Cellar Aged Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 57.85% (USA) $149.00.
91 Maker’s Mark Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 45% (USA) $26.00.
95 Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky Batch No. 21-05 55% (USA) $44.00.
86 Roku Gin 43% (Japan) $24.00.
93 Roku Gin 43% (Japan) $27.00.
92 Tres Generaciones Añejo Tequila 40% (Mexico) $49.00.
90 Tres Generaciones Bottle Package 0% (Mexico) $49.00.
87 Tres Generaciones Añejo Cristalino Tequila 40% (Mexico) $64.00.
87 Tres Generaciones Plata Tequila 40% (Mexico) $39.00.
88 Tres Generaciones Reposado Tequila 40% (Mexico) $44.00.
94 Tres Generaciones 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition Añejo Tequila Vol. 03 45% (Mexico) $199.00.
93 Tres Generaciones 50th Anniversary Legacy Edition Añejo Tequila Vol. 03 Bottle Package 45% (Mexico) $199.00.

Rye Whiskey

Spirits Glass Glencairn Canadian Amber.jpg
Serve in a Glencairn Ganadian Whisky Glass
Rye Whisky must contain a minimum of 51% rye grain, be distilled at less than 80% ABV (160 proof) and be aged for a minimum of two years in new charred barrels. A small amount of straight Rye whiskey is bottled and marketed, but most of the industry production is blended into other whiskies to give them additional character and structure. Canadians frequently refer to their whisky as "Rye," though it is in fact made primarily from corn or wheat.

The Taste: While the best Bourbon is known for a creamy, caramel-like palate, the best Rye whiskey makes its presence known with a spicy, grainy, hard-edged firmness that is distinctive and unique. Usually very dry, with notes of walnut, toasted grain, and black pepper, straight rye has a bold assertive character that has earned it a small but dedicated following among discerning whiskey fans.

The Scotch-Irish immigrant distillers had some exposure to using rye in whiskey production, but for their German immigrant neighbors rye had been the primary grain used in the production of Schnapps and Vodka back in northern Europe. They continued this distilling practice, particularly in Pennsylvania and Maryland, where Rye whiskey, with its distinctive hard-edged, grainy palate, remained the dominant whiskey type well into the 20th century.

Rye whiskey was even more adversely effected by National Prohibition than Bourbon. A generation of consumers weaned on light-bodied and relatively delicate white spirits turned away from the uncompromising, pungent, full-bodied straight Rye whiskies. Production of Rye whiskies had vanished altogether from its Mid-Atlantic homeland by the 1980s. A handful of modern Rye whiskies are currently being made by Bourbon distilleries in Kentucky and Indiana. America’s first indigenous whiskey style is today only barely surviving in the marketplace. Its primary use is for blending to give other whiskies more character and backbone, although a small but vocal group of Rye whisky enthusiasts continue to champion it.

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