A few months back, Hokus Pokus did a barrel pick of a Knob Creek bourbon, and I tried each of the three samples and agreed with their selection. But what I didn’t think about at the time was that they didn’t send water with this three pint selection kit as they typically do for Knob Creek Single Barrel Selections. Every prior barrel selection Jim Beam sent over a pint of water with instructions for each pint as to how many drops of water to use to know what the finished product would taste like, as all Knob Creek Single Barrels were proofed down to 120 proof. That is still high but not cask strength. Low and behold, breaking the tradition of Booker’s being the only cask strength bourbon released by Jim Beam in the small batch collection, this Knob Creek Single Barrel Select is cask strength at 125.8 proof. This really is a welcome change as Booker’s remains in the 6 to 8 year range, as that is how old Booker Noe liked his bourbon. But Freddie is another story; he enjoys older bourbon and Knob Creek nine year old is effectively his baby. The Hokus Barrel pick is nine years old, but only three months shy of being a ten year old whiskey. To get Jim Beam whiskey this old and at this high of a proof, you would have to purchase a Booker’s Anniversary edition bottling. This bottle is just shy of $80, but given what Booker’s generally costs ($85 to $100) the price is definitely right. I got to try a sample of the bottled product before it was available for sale (it needed to be entered into Hokus’s system) and was just like, oh, wow, that is really good. This barrel pick is exclusive to the Alexandria store; Lake Charles has their own recent barrel pick that is lower in proof than the standard Knob Creek Single Barrel, but also at cask strength.

The color on this is a very solid deep amber. On the swirl is a thin film but very thick oily legs. On the nose, I get caramel, toasted marshmallow, and oak as the standouts of this very traditional bourbon nose. On the palate, the notes really exemplify why Knob Creek Single Barrel is so delicious – lots of vanilla, caramel, candied cherries (but without the cherry altoid flavor, which is lovely) and baking spice. Full bodied mouthfeel that is rich and tongue coating. On the finish the baking spices hang for the longest time without turning to clove (how did they do that?), along with some lingering cherry notes and oak.

This is dangerously quaffable at this proof point. It is exceptionally smooth even at this proof and I can chew this bourbon over and over without it burning my mouth. To me, this Knob Creek Single Barrel Cask Strength is better than many of the Booker’s releases I have tried over the years, starting in 1993. The only other cask strength Knob Creek I have had is the 25th Anniversary Edition, that was 13 years old. Given that I had that bourbon eight years ago, I don’t really have a point of comparison, other than say that this particular Hokus Pokus pick is definitely worth picking up and putting on the top shelf, because this is truly a special bottle.