Ruffin51 Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 On Knob Creek Single Barrel Store Pick bottles, there are sometimes side stickers that indicate extra age as compared to the unchanging nine year front label. I noticed some stickers also denote that the bottles have entry proofs well above the front stated 120. My question is, are they simply stating the entry proof and it has been watered down to 120 for bottling, or is the juice inside actually higher than 120 proof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 My understanding is it is the proof when it was dumped prior to "proofing". So not entry proof, which is the proof it goes into the cask at, and also not bottling proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 5 hours ago, Ruffin51 said: On Knob Creek Single Barrel Store Pick bottles, there are sometimes side stickers that indicate extra age as compared to the unchanging nine year front label. I noticed some stickers also denote that the bottles have entry proofs well above the front stated 120. My question is, are they simply stating the entry proof and it has been watered down to 120 for bottling, or is the juice inside actually higher than 120 proof? As kevin said above, that's the dumping proof. It steel gets downproofed to 120. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeTerp Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 For the age statement you’re allowed to say nine years as long as it’s at least nine years (which most of the private selects are older). As as for the proof they need to have that exact. If they were bottling at barrel proof they would t be allowed to use the 120 on the label. Asgar as as I know KC 25th is the only barrel proof KC (although I think most bottle are pretty close to the 120). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffin51 Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 Makes sense. Thanks for the clarification, all! I figured this was the case but wanted to be sure. A 13+ year, 120 proof single barrel for $40 is already pretty awesome, but all that and 130+ proof would truly blow my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyjd75 Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I have participated in several Knob Creek private barrel selections. Virtually every barrel I have sampled was older than 9 years, most were in the 11-12 year range, with a few 13+ years. Likewise, every barrel was of a higher proof than 120, believe I have seen one as high as 139 when sampling. Now that is hot! Yes, whatever barrel you end up picking is reduced in proof to 120 and uses the standard 9 yr label, with a plaque added designating it as a private selection by your store. Right now you can generally be sure that if you are purchasing a private barrel selection, it is definitely older than just 9 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreggJ Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 I just purchased 2 different Barrel Selections. Outside of a sticker on the side is there any way to determine the age via the SKU or other secret codes on the bottle? BTW the few i hav tried hav all been fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinbrink Posted November 1, 2017 Share Posted November 1, 2017 31 minutes ago, GreggJ said: I just purchased 2 different Barrel Selections. Outside of a sticker on the side is there any way to determine the age via the SKU or other secret codes on the bottle? BTW the few i hav tried hav all been fantastic. I suppose you could email Beam, I haven't seen one locally labeled like the ones other people post either, just the silver Private selection label on the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako254 Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Not really a Beam guy but a couple local shops have barrels. Might pick one up as my next relationship maintenance purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpiz Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 On 11/1/2017 at 12:27 PM, GreggJ said: I just purchased 2 different Barrel Selections. Outside of a sticker on the side is there any way to determine the age via the SKU or other secret codes on the bottle? BTW the few i hav tried hav all been fantastic. Not from the bottle that I know of. If you're buying them in person, you can ask if they have the physical barrel in the shop. On the barrel there'll be an alpha-numeric code (like C04J13) that can be used to ballpark the age. The second and third digits (04 in the example code) indicate the barreling year, the 4th digit is the month (J is the 10th letter of the alphabet, indicating October) and the final two digits are the barreling day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreggJ Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 27 minutes ago, Kpiz said: Not from the bottle that I know of. If you're buying them in person, you can ask if they have the physical barrel in the shop. On the barrel there'll be an alpha-numeric code (like C04J13) that can be used to ballpark the age. The second and third digits (04 in the example code) indicate the barreling year, the 4th digit is the month (J is the 10th letter of the alphabet, indicating October) and the final two digits are the barreling day. Thats good to know. This was a Barrel pick from the state of NH. So the Barrels wouldn't be available as there are numerous stores sharing bottles. The nice thing is that they have 12 different barrels with tasting notes. The first one I opened was very good. I think most Barrel Proof offerings benefit with air and feel it could round into something excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpiz Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 12 minutes ago, GreggJ said: Thats good to know. This was a Barrel pick from the state of NH. So the Barrels wouldn't be available as there are numerous stores sharing bottles. The nice thing is that they have 12 different barrels with tasting notes. The first one I opened was very good. I think most Barrel Proof offerings benefit with air and feel it could round into something excellent. It's nice that they at least provide tasting notes. And they have 12 different barrels to boot! I don't think all the stores near me have 12 different KC barrels combined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 On 11/1/2017 at 12:27 PM, GreggJ said: I just purchased 2 different Barrel Selections. Outside of a sticker on the side is there any way to determine the age via the SKU or other secret codes on the bottle? BTW the few i hav tried hav all been fantastic. If you know someone at Beam like I do, you can ask them and they will find out. Outside that, there's no easy way to find out. You can try emailing Beam with barrel info and maybe will get a response. I don't know of anyone trying this, but I do know people who have emailed Four Roses when they had a Private Selection single barrel with incomplete information and Four Roses answered them with the info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffin51 Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share Posted November 3, 2017 BT also answers questions about barrel picks quite thoroughly. Would be interesting to know whether Beam does or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob_Loblaw Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 I was told by two different store managers that the proof on the side label is what the juice inside the bottle is. I give that explanation very little weight. However, in the review of the KC 25th Anniversary on Breaking Bourbon they mention that the PS Single Barrels selections are also bottled at barrel proof. http://www.breakingbourbon.com/knob-creek-25th-anniversary.html See the last two sentences of the italicized introduction paragraph. An email to Beam went unanswered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kpiz Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 1 hour ago, Bob_Loblaw said: I was told by two different store managers that the proof on the side label is what the juice inside the bottle is. I give that explanation very little weight. However, in the review of the KC 25th Anniversary on Breaking Bourbon they mention that the PS Single Barrels selections are also bottled at barrel proof. http://www.breakingbourbon.com/knob-creek-25th-anniversary.html See the last two sentences of the italicized introduction paragraph. An email to Beam went unanswered. Are you referring to this part of the review?: "Incidentally, the standard Knob Creek Single Barrel is released at 120 proof, however the smaller volume samples offered via the barrel selection program are bottled at barrel proof, which is often around 130 proof (based on experience)" If so, I think he means the samples they send when you're choosing a single barrel are bottled at barrel proof, not that the eventual selection is bottled at barrel proof. They did allow a small number of retailers to select "25th anniversary barrels", and those were bottled at barrel proof, but they were priced in line with the other 25th anniversary barrels released ($120+) so it'd be dark to mistake one for a "regular" KCSB store pick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 2 hours ago, Bob_Loblaw said: I was told by two different store managers that the proof on the side label is what the juice inside the bottle is. I give that explanation very little weight. However, in the review of the KC 25th Anniversary on Breaking Bourbon they mention that the PS Single Barrels selections are also bottled at barrel proof. http://www.breakingbourbon.com/knob-creek-25th-anniversary.html See the last two sentences of the italicized introduction paragraph. An email to Beam went unanswered. Just did a Knob Creek pick today. I can assure you they only bottle at 120. Kyle explained it above well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueby Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Plus...the KC website states: "This is our first ever bourbon bottled at barrel strength." when referring to the 25th Anniversary Edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob_Loblaw Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Sounds good thanks for clarifying! Either way from an age/Proof perspective these are a nice value at $40 imo. I have had several different picks and were are all solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippinNsippin Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 (edited) Grabbed my first 2 store picks of this yesterday - 14.5 yr olds Freaking outstanding - esp for $39 Very much hoping to find more of these in the future - although I fear a price hike will be coming soon Edited March 10, 2020 by chippinNsippin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston_TX Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 So KC picks state on the label the Barrelled Date and the Selected On Date. Does Beam dump the selected barrels the day their picked? Just curious if the age of the bourbon would coincide with the Selected On Date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 2 hours ago, Houston_TX said: So KC picks state on the label the Barrelled Date and the Selected On Date. Does Beam dump the selected barrels the day their picked? Just curious if the age of the bourbon would coincide with the Selected On Date. They do not dump on the same day they are picked. It can be anywhere from 1 -3 months after the pick that they get dumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 4 hours ago, flahute said: They do not dump on the same day they are picked. It can be anywhere from 1 -3 months after the pick that they get dumped. Are you sure, bro? They dumped our GBS pick right after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 55 minutes ago, smokinjoe said: Are you sure, bro? They dumped our GBS pick right after. When was that pick? The very first Bourbon Crusaders picks whet like yours. I wasn't there for it but as I recall you actually got to participate in bottling? Since then all of our subsequent picks have gone like other distilleries. You pick the barrel and then 'wait in line' for your spot in the dumping and bottling queue and then the barrel goes through whichever retailer you indicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 (edited) I’ve seen them dumped on the same day, but I know that often they can also be held for several months before they’ll be dumped. I think it depends on how long it’s been since your last pick, as some limitations can apply as to when they will bottle for you again. Essentially, you may pick two barrels but may only be eligible for one to be bottled. They will then hold the other barrel for you until you’re back in the distributors eligibility queue. Edited August 27, 2020 by Paddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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