The general rule of thumb when picking a single cask of Bourbon is: the higher the barrel’s position in the rick house, the hotter the location. The hotter the location of the barrel, the greater the evaporation and concentration of flavor. It’s not a fool-proof formula, but it’s been working for us so far this year.

Beam is nice enough to give you a map of the barrel’s location in the warehouse each time we select a new cask of Knob Creek, so we keep picking casks from the upper stories. The concentration in this new barrel is clear, yielding only 132 bottles.

Our new 9 1/2 year old 120 proof barrel comes from the sixth floor of the rick house and offers the most dessert-like aromas from any Bourbon we’ve selected in 2021. There’s burnt sugar and molasses on the nose, with lots of oak on the palate, but the finish morphs completely into sawdust, savory notes, and tobacco. This whiskey is practically begging for a cigar pairing, but given the price, the proof, and the deliciousness, it will probably go down much faster than the cigar!

-David Driscoll