Knob Creek Blender's Edition 1: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Welcome to Whisy's a Journey. My name is Peter Fosiano. Today is my Monday series where I take a whiskey and do a somewhat of a deeper dive review. Today we're taking a look at the new release, the Knob Creek Blenders Edition number one.

[00:00:14]Just like always, we're going to pour it, nose it, taste it. Not really talk about it a whole lot. I have a little a little to mention about it, but the majority of this is going to be comparing it to the Knob Creek 9. So, this is Knob Creek Blenders Edition number one, 10 years of age, 106 proof.

[00:00:34]Got a rumored mash bill of 75 corn, 13 rye, and 12% malted barley, which I always thought that the Knob Creek mash bill was disclosed, but doing a little bit of research on it, apparently Knob Creek does not disclose their mash bill.

[00:00:51]So, and I don't know where the rumors are coming from on on how they settled in on that one. If you know, let me know in the comments. This is a 750ml bottle and it's $43 or $44.99 in Phoenix, Arizona. And when you compare that to the Knob Creek 9 when you're younger, six proof points lower and $2 more, at least at the time that I purchased it. So, let's go ahead and get this thing on the nose.

[00:01:21]Yeah. I mean, there's no doubt about it.

[00:01:23]It's sweet. I mean, it tells you right here on the label that it is a sweet bourbon blend, and it is definitely that. Every time I pick up a Knob Creek, I expect something to be a little bit nutty, a little bit spicy, and a little bit sweet. And this is just about the opposite.

[00:01:44]It is sweet, then it's got a little bit of spice, and I'm picking up on some oak.

[00:01:52]Tremendous amounts of vanilla right up front.

[00:01:56]I still do get a little bit of a dusty peanut note, like a nutty note. Doesn't have to be a peanut, but there is a little bit of that Jim Beam signature nutty flavored nutty note.

[00:02:14]But it is definitely dominated by vanilla and a sweeter kind of red candy.

[00:02:20]Wouldn't quite call it a cherry, but it's very close to that.

[00:02:27]Maybe a cotton candy note, but yeah. I mean, it is sweet. Sweet, oy, spicy.

[00:02:34]Probably in that order. And on the side of this label, they have their tasting notes. Now, I think these are the the blenders tasting notes, and you can get on to their website. Scroll down a little bit. When you get to Knob Creek and it talks about the Blenders Edition, you can download this little chart, print it off, cut it out if you want a little bit more of a an experience, you know, through the website, you can do that. But it is another little interactive experience that you can have with the distiller and the company itself. So, if you're into that kind of thing, go ahead and take a look at it.

[00:03:13]All right, since I do have the nine here, I do want to compare the noses on them.

[00:03:21]Knob Creek 9 is definitely more muted than the Blender Edition and I get a little bit more spice on the nose and a little bit more of a dusty peanut note.

[00:03:37]They definitely smell completely different.

[00:03:43]I really like the way this smells. That being the blender edition number one.

[00:03:49]So, let's go ahead and get it on the pallet. Cheers, everybody. Wow. Sweet, buttery, oky, then spice in that order.

[00:04:00]You know, it's hard to evade the other reviews on this. I tried my best not to watch them, but as much YouTube as I watch with the other whiskey tube channels, I saw a couple of reviews and I got to tell you, I think everybody's pretty much spot on. Everybody's in line with this being a fantastic blend, sweet, different profile, and it's at an exceptional price. And I think pretty much everybody's conclusion is the same. So, if you have seen this in your area and you are wondering if you should pick it up or not, you know, just cutting to the chase, absolutely.

[00:04:39]I think this is a good age, it's a good price, and the profile is different enough from a typical Knob Creek that I think it spices it up a little bit. Not in the sense of it's more spicy, but it just gives you a different profile and it kind of keeps you on your toes. And I and I like that. I don't want to go into Knob Creek every time getting the exact same profile.

[00:05:03]So, it's nice to have something slightly different. Let's go and get a a second sip on this. And then I want to move over to the nine and compare them before I add water to this. All right, second sip. 106 proof is not too proofy. So, you I mean, you know you're drinking alcohol, but it's not blowing out your pallet because it's too hot. That vanilla, buttery, silky sensation is happening on the tongue. It's coating.

[00:05:29]It's It's really sweet up front. It loses a little bit of the intensity mid pallet. I think that's where the oak takes over and sinks down underneath the tongue. And then as it travels back to the finish, it ramps up on the sweetness again and you get a little bit of a pepper spice. That oak starts to rise up again.

[00:05:48]I wouldn't say that this is a terribly long finish. I would say medium at at best, but it's a very enjoyable, sweet, mellow sip. Everything that you want in a basic pore, but it's slightly elevated from a basic pore. I like everything about this. I like the age, I like the proof, and I definitely like the price.

[00:06:10]So, let me go ahead and move on to the Knob Creek 9.

[00:06:16]Definitely more spice on the nose, less oak.

[00:06:22]All of them or they both have those typical bourbon notes with the brown sugar, caramel, and the vanilla, but the vanilla note that's in the blender edition is really upfront.

[00:06:33]Completely jumps out of the glass compared to the nine. The nine's a much more mellow nose. Everything's there with a basic bourbon, but it's a little bit more subdued. It's not as loud as the blenders and it comes across as a little bit more spicy than anything else. So, let's go ahead and get it on the pallet. All right, that six proof point lower is definitely evident, but there is really an accelerated spice note from the arrival to midp to finish. That spice note ramps up as it goes.

[00:07:10]much less oak, much less proof, not as dynamic, and definitely not as sweet. I still like it. Knob Greek Nine, I mean, is no slouch. I mean, it is it's a good I don't want to say introductory bourbon, but it's definitely a good bourbon to drink where you don't really have to think about. It's not that complicated. The depth of flavor is not fantastic, but it's definitely giving you a good profile, a nice solid bourbon, a nice solid drink.

[00:07:42]I like them both. But I got to be honest, I mean, this also could be something new and, you know, like a new little flashy thing happening, which is c is causing me to want to gravitate to this more just because it's different than the normal Knob Creek profile.

[00:07:59]They're both good, but I'm leaning a little bit more towards the blenders edition than the nine cinnamon spice.

[00:08:07]That oak note mid pallet doesn't sink, doesn't give me that depth of oak underneath the tongue like the blender edition does. And the finish is definitely much shorter. And not that the blender edition is a long finish by any means, but I would say that this is much shorter than the blender edition.

[00:08:26]Let me get one more sip of the nine. The nine hits the pallet much softer. It's 100 proof, 50% ABV.

[00:08:34]Believed to be the same mash bill again, six proof points lower, one year younger.

[00:08:42]Yeah, I think I am reaching for the blenders edition all day over the nine.

[00:08:48]If you've seen these in your market, how much are they going for? Have you picked them up? And what do you think of the blenders edition? Let me know in the comments. Added a couple of drops of water here. I wanted to see kind of how this holds up.

[00:09:04]And before I get to this with the water and then move on to the score. If you've made it this far and you like what I'm doing here, do me a favor, subscribe to the channel. If you're not subscribed already, turn that bell notification on because I produce videos every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

[00:09:20]And then if you are interested in supporting the channel, quick note really quick, the butter note that I just got with the water is now making this a little bit more towards a butterscotch balm. Vanilla butterscotch sugary. That was amazing. Let me get back to it. If you're interested in supporting the channel, this is an expensive channel to run. I do have a Patreon account. I have multiple tiers to choose from. That Patreon link is in the description. Click on that. It's sorry, it's in the description. Click on that. Peruse the the tiers. And if you are willing to support the channel, pick a che tier that suits you. And I appreciate the support. This has turned into a butterscotch bomb with a couple of drops of water. It's buttery. If a silky note can come through on the nose, this is now coming across as extremely silky.

[00:10:18]Yeah. Vanilla, caramel, butter, little bit of a candy note, like a sugary candy note. I wouldn't say this is now cotton candy or any kind of red fruits. It's turned a little bit more butterscotchy with oak rather than vanilla sweet and cotton candy. So, let's get the sip down with the water and then give this thing a score. And I'm going to give the nine a score as well. With the water, it's lost a little bit of the sweetness and brought out a little bit more of the spice and a little bit more of the oak. The butterscotch note is there, but what I've left, but what this has lost is the vanilla note. It's not as sweet and I think with the amount of water it has, I guess, diminished the mouth feel and the silkiness and that buttery kind of note that was coming through. I think going forward, drink your whiskey however you want. Experiment with it. Put it on a block of ice, add a couple of drops of water. Going forward, I don't think I would add water to this. Me personally, I just like the way that it is right out of the bottle with that sweet note. I would really be interested to see what this would be like in an old-fashioned.

[00:11:33]But overall, this is a this is really good. I love the value. I love the proof. And I definitely like that sweet note. And I'm not getting any kind of nutty note with the water. So, I think if you are interested in a little bit more of a nutty note, adding water to it is probably not the way to go. If you still do like that Jim Beam nut nutty note, I think you're still going to get it without the water and it's diminished with the water. At least for me and my palette. And if your palette aligns with mine, maybe that's something that you're going to get. So, moving on to the score. If you're new here and you don't know how I score things, I rate everything out of five stars. This is the entire package. With the exception of the intensity of the flavors and the roller coaster and development of flavors, this is a solid pore, a solid price, a good proof point.

[00:12:29]I'm going to put this thing at a four. I think this is welld deserved. The Knob Creek 9 a little softer on the pallet, a little bit more expensive, a little bit less proof. I'm going to put that at a 3.95. I still like it. They're both very good value pores, but I've got to give the Blender Edition the upper hand here.

[00:12:50]And everything about this is good. It's not going to knock your socks off. It's not going to change your world, but for the proof and the price, I don't think you can go wrong. Give it a shot. And when you do, let me know what you think of it in the comments. All right, that's all I have for today. So, wherever you were at in your journey, I hope you're enjoying it. And we'll talk to everybody later.