Held at Meat Smith Singapore, we were treated to an intimate dinner and experienced Knob Creek’s bourbons with none other than FLY Entertainment’s Bobby Tonelli. While not one to be a fan of bourbons, I jumped at the chance of being one of the first in Asia to taste the full range of Knob Creek’s small batch bourbons as well as to learn a little more about it!
I have had an Old Fashioned before, so I was quite interested in learning how to make one myself and boy was I surprised. It tasted nothing like what I had in the bar! Perhaps, it was learning to make my own from the experts of Beam Suntory, but it might actually boil that down to being able to control my own portions and also definitely the quality of the bourbon.
The beauty of Knob Creek’s small batch bourbons was not that it has multiple awards and recognitions such as being named as the “Best Bourbon in 2015”, nor that it is a pre-prohibition bourbon. But its distinctive maple sweetness and it’s amber hue which luminates through the beautiful bottle and wax-sealing cap.
The entire range consists of four bourbons, Kentucky Straight Bourbon – which is Knob Creek’s original bourbon, Single barrel Reserve Bourbon, Smoked Maple and Straight Rye Whiskey.
The most interesting was the Smoked Maple where the maple notes were enhanced to complement the nature of the bourbon, instead of fighting against the sweetness. The Straight Rye Whiskey is also note-worthy as it has a spicy profile due to the bourbon containing more rye than corn.
Overall, the bourbons were excellent, lovely to drink neat from the color, to aroma and taste and fantastic smooth finishes. While they are not available yet in the market, they can be ordered from Beam Suntory directly in the mean time!
Editorial by Cedric Tang
