One of the best parts of producing a bourbon podcast and blog is meeting other great people with the same interest and goals: good bourbon and getting the word out. We first met Bill and Matt of Modern Thirst a few years back through a mutual friend, and it’s always a fun time when we’re together at bourbon events, or even just on a buss…

Earlier in 2016, the guys from Modern Thirst teamed up with the Party Source to pick a barrel of Knob Creek Single Barrel, 120 proof. As this is generally one of our standard always-on-our-shelf at home bottles, we were excited to try this bottle. While Bottom of the Barrel isn’t primarily a review site, in fact we review as little as possible, we were happy to give our thoughts on this bottle.  Here’s what me and Chris have to say about this barrel pick:

Background: Barreled Halloween, 2006 at 126.1 proof, Floor 4/7 in Warehouse L, 9 years old(almost 10). Private barrel pick by Modern Thirst and the Party Source.

Nose: Caramel sweet bomb with high char notes, hints of apple, very faint bright floral note akin to a Four Roses; addition of water really brings out the citrus. Chocolate becomes more apparent after a few minutes of rest.

Taste: Sweet heavy oak and char front that recedes into pleasant vanilla and caramel, bitter orange, cloves, and lemon; addition of water oddly makes the alcohol much more noticeable with a slightly astringent orange-chocolate predominance, with a lessening of the caramel and vanilla while keeping the heavy oak and char backbone, water somewhat enhances the similarities to some OBSV Four Roses single barrels.

Rating: Strong 3.5/5 barrels. As much as we enjoy the usual Knob Creek Single Barrel 120 (long one of our favorites), this was a slight step above. Chris notes that for him, this is likely due to his enjoyment of sweet, caramel bombs tempered by citrus, not unlike an Ethiopian coffee.

Overall, this is a fantastic private barrel pick of what is always a great bottle. It’s well worth the ~$45 price tag. Get it before it’s gone, it’s spooky good!

Cheers,
Chris and Darren