flahute Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 Sorry for being a little late to kick off the new year but I needed a break after the State of the State post. With that aside, I figured we should kick off a new year with a new bourbon. For those of you who put up with my posts and who read the aforementioned super long post, you know that I consider KC12 to be the best new release of 2020. Now it should be said that I am one of those who generally doesn't like young Beam. Booker's from 4-5 years ago could overcome that but otherwise I only liked KC at 9 years and up. So maybe I'm biased to older Beam in ways that others aren't. I should also say that I was among the many who caught on to the KCSiB program including the much older barrels into the program and as a result of catching on early (thanks to my friend who worked for Beam at the time) I have a cabinet that is chock full of 12,13,14, and 15yr old KCSiB private selections - most of them selected by me. They are among my favorite bottles in my bunker. In past State of the State posts I criticized Beam for not doing anything special in the way of LE's given all this great whiskey they had. Well, I have to fess up to my hypocrisy when they started to divert those old barrels into KC12 and KC15 while charging a higher price. I didn't like it because I was spoiled by all of those older picks at the less expensive single barrel price. Welp, it looks like I got what I wanted! In a sense anyway. The 15yr is indeed limited and I haven't tried it yet. I saw it once, but that was when I was still feeling salty over the price hike. I'll buy one next time. As for the 12yr, it's a regularly available item. And that is remarkable given its quality. Once I decided to take the plunge, I was immediately glad that I did and I ran around buying up as many as I could because at the time I didn't know it was not an LE. Onto the whiskey - kudos to the blending team on this. To my palate it is perfectly balanced. You can definitely taste the age but it is no way is it too tannic or oaky. It has a well rounded mouthfeel (emphasis on round, as in soft) of salted caramel that I get in the 2020 4RLESmB and the WT17BIB. This tells me there is older whiskey in the mix. It is almost a perfect whiskey to my palate. I wonder how long Beam can keep this up at that age. I think I'm going to go out and buy some more just in case. Tell me what y'all think. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven s Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 I have a # of KC picks in the 11-15 year range, and when I open one of these, I will proof it down slightly and compare it to the KC12. The KC12 is slightly more expensive, but has more than held it's own every time. As my aged KC picks slowly run out, I will certainly purchase more of the KC12. Excellent stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guss West Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 Good one, Steve. Going to make me buy one after all. First, I'll say that Knob Creek is my favorite Beam product, and it's a short list. Always an open one around, right now it's a half-gallon of the old-label 9 year old age-stated stuff from 4-5 years back. Count me among those with a backup of fantastic teenage KC SiB selections from the past several years as well. It's been hard to pull the trigger on the 12 or 15 when I have so many like it already. I've seen them both near me at MSRP, but that was a few months ago. "Dangit, Bobby..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry in WashDC Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 THX, Steve. Love the choice. I've finished off two KC 12YO's since its release and loved both - B/S seems to have maintained the profile batch to batch which is tough to do when you are dumping 100s of barrels at a time over time. I also agree that older Beams (anything 7 years of more??) are at least not bad. While I like the 9YO for its sharp elbows and rough edges, I love the 12YO because those sharps and edges are sanded down. I don't know how they do that - WHO is doing the blending for this? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhettro Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 From time to time, it’s exciting to chase a limited, extra-aged release. Getting to the store early, aggressively grabbing that limited release bottle off of the shelf and proudly carrying it to the register, hoping that part-time bottle shop employee doesn’t turn to you and say “Where’d you get that?” You know what’s even better? Strolling into your favorite local liquor store - any time of the day, and day of the week - and knowing that if your precious limited bottle ain’t there, KC 12 will be. And for half the price. The QPR and availability of KC 12 shouldn’t be minimized. It feels like Jim Beam is leading the way back to normalcy, where you can once again find well aged and delicious whiskey waiting for you on your favorite LS shelves. Big up’s to JB for starting a much-needed and well deserved trend. Plus KC 12 really delicious. Period. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroo5880i Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 I saw KC12 in several stores in December. Not so many in January. However, I did run into a few bottles recently. The price on the bottles I saw in December was in the low $50s. The bottles I saw recently were in the low $60s. I know prices can vary by region. However, I am curious what price others are finding it for. I am also curious is this an ongoing release or is it by specific batches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted January 18, 2021 Author Share Posted January 18, 2021 2 minutes ago, mbroo5880i said: I saw KC12 in several stores in December. Not so many in January. However, I did run into a few bottles recently. The price on the bottles I saw in December was in the low $50s. The bottles I saw recently were in the low $60s. I know prices can vary by region. However, I am curious what price others are finding it for. I am also curious is this an ongoing release or is it by specific batches? It will be an ongoing release. By nature, it will be a batch to batch situation but because it's not at barrel proof there's no way for us to know easily what batch is what. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbroo5880i Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 1 minute ago, flahute said: It will be an ongoing release. By nature, it will be a batch to batch situation but because it's not at barrel proof there's no way for us to know easily what batch is what. Thanks Steve! I was curious whether the batch I saw in December is the same as the one I saw a few days ago. I would assume minimal variation given each batch is 100 proof. On a side note, I have noted a price increase for KC at different local retailers since the beginning of the year. About 10%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemonman Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 2 hours ago, mbroo5880i said: I saw KC12 in several stores in December. Not so many in January. However, I did run into a few bottles recently. The price on the bottles I saw in December was in the low $50s. The bottles I saw recently were in the low $60s. I know prices can vary by region. However, I am curious what price others are finding it for. I am also curious is this an ongoing release or is it by specific batches? I have not seen it any lower than $59.99 around here, and a few bucks more here & there. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kepler Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) On 1/10/2021 at 6:32 PM, flahute said: As for the 12yr, it's a regularly available item. And that is remarkable given its quality. Once I decided to take the plunge, I was immediately glad that I did and I ran around buying up as many as I could because at the time I didn't know it was not an LE. On 1/16/2021 at 4:23 PM, Rhettro said: You know what’s even better? Strolling into your favorite local liquor store - any time of the day, and day of the week - and knowing that if your precious limited bottle ain’t there, KC 12 will be. And for half the price. The QPR and availability of KC 12 shouldn’t be minimized. It feels like Jim Beam is leading the way back to normalcy, where you can once again find well aged and delicious whiskey waiting for you on your favorite LS shelves. Y'all are lucky if KC12 is readily available in your area. Full out limited "tater" rarity here in Texas. I procured a bottle last July, but haven't seen it since in these parts. Maybe I just missed it. Edited February 7, 2021 by Kepler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 9 hours ago, Kepler said: Y'all are lucky if KC12 is readily available in your area. Full out limited "tater" rarity here in Texas. I procured a bottle last July, but haven't seen it since in these parts. Maybe I just missed it. I think people are catching on because it's currently out of stock. More is expected this month but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 On 1/17/2021 at 8:57 PM, mbroo5880i said: I saw KC12 in several stores in December. Not so many in January. However, I did run into a few bottles recently. The price on the bottles I saw in December was in the low $50s. The bottles I saw recently were in the low $60s. I know prices can vary by region. However, I am curious what price others are finding it for. I am also curious is this an ongoing release or is it by specific batches? They wanted $75.00 for a bottle, at a local LS, in the Baltimore Metro area. That may not be typical, for around here, as this is the same store that's charging $39.99 for Old Tub. I'll have to visit one of my regular haunts, (with better selections and pricing), and re-post what I see. I'd be comfortable paying ~ $60.00. If it hit's the $70's, the taters can have it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvallisCracker Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Went through a bottle of it in December. Liked it okay, but not enough to track down another bottle (none in the state currently, at least according to the never wrong OLCC search engine). That surprised me a bit; I've been a fan of the 9yo since the 1990s). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mano Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I bought a couple of bottles of the 12 ($60) and one of the 15 ($100) a few months ago. I have finished off one of the 12's ( haven't cracked the 15 yet ). It was good, smoother and a bit more oakey than the standard KC. It has been somewhat regularly available here, and I may get it from time to time, but there are a few other bottles in that price range that I prefer ( like the 4RSBS ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 This is a solid whiskey, and I enjoy it. Beams with extended age get too dry to my tastes, so anything much over 7 yr tend to get outside my enjoyment zone. This 12 doesn’t cross the line with me, however. It still retains the juiciness to it, which I get from what is my sweetspot in 7ish year Beam. When Beams lose that juiciness, they lose me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 On 2/9/2021 at 8:33 AM, Skinsfan1311 said: They wanted $75.00 for a bottle, at a local LS, in the Baltimore Metro area. That may not be typical, for around here, as this is the same store that's charging $39.99 for Old Tub. I'll have to visit one of my regular haunts, (with better selections and pricing), and re-post what I see. I'd be comfortable paying ~ $60.00. If it hit's the $70's, the taters can have it.... Mrs. Skinsfan found it for $53.99. $25.00 cheaper than I've seen anywhere else around here. Inwish she had bought a couple more. The juice on the right was $38.99. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backdoctor Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 I think KC12 is way better bang for the buck than the KC15. The 12 is a decent value. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guss West Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 This is currently unavailable, on backorder from distributors in CT. I had to call in a favor to get a lone bottle of the KC12. I opened their new KCSiB instead, squirreling away the KC12 until I can grab another bottle somewhere. This is supposed to be a permanent line addition, correct? Perhaps demand was higher than expected for the KC12? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 2 hours ago, Guss West said: This is currently unavailable, on backorder from distributors in CT. I had to call in a favor to get a lone bottle of the KC12. I opened their new KCSiB instead, squirreling away the KC12 until I can grab another bottle somewhere. This is supposed to be a permanent line addition, correct? Perhaps demand was higher than expected for the KC12? It's a permanent addition, yes. When it first came out it was widely available and sat around for a good while. I think a lot of people didn't want to pay the price for 12yrs at 100 proof after all those years of paying less for 120 proof in the 12-15 yr range. I was that way at first. Then I realized how good it is and started putting some away in anticipation of everyone figuring it out. It appears that they did. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjbarth Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 On 3/15/2021 at 8:57 PM, Guss West said: This is currently unavailable, on backorder from distributors in CT. I had to call in a favor to get a lone bottle of the KC12. I opened their new KCSiB instead, squirreling away the KC12 until I can grab another bottle somewhere. This is supposed to be a permanent line addition, correct? Perhaps demand was higher than expected for the KC12? It may be a local thing with your distributors. I picked one up at my local LS in NJ this past weekend and there were 10 on the shelf. My wife was with me and wouldn’t let me get more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dparis231 Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 I've noticed that all the store picks from around the country are roughly 9-9 1/2 years old. while decently priced it doesn't vary much from the KC 9 year 120 proof available from the distillery. the days of 13,14 and 15 year store picks are gone. In the future these will probably be put out as special releases from KC. Unfortunately i believe, these older store picks are a thing of the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbon_Jeeper Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Being new to the forums here, I just ran into this post. I'm from Georgia and it seems my state overly taxes liquor, which causes us to not get everything. I'm told many distributors don't want to sell here due to the taxes. I say that to say this, where is a good place to get KC12? I have looked everywhere around Augusta and can't find it. Is it limited? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM818 Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 On 2/9/2021 at 5:33 AM, Skinsfan1311 said: If it hit's the $70's, the taters can have it.... Dammit! I guess I’m a tater! Wanted to try it and found it at a random liquor store. First time seeing it so why not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 On 4/17/2021 at 10:24 PM, MM818 said: Dammit! I guess I’m a tater! Wanted to try it and found it at a random liquor store. First time seeing it so why not. Don't feel bad....I've seen it at a few places, North of $70.00. I've only found it cheaper, at one place, and they charged around $54.00, if memory serves. It's a great pour! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayouredd Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 On 4/17/2021 at 9:24 PM, MM818 said: Dammit! I guess I’m a tater! Wanted to try it and found it at a random liquor store. First time seeing it so why not. Now see if you can wait 2 weeks before touching it again. A little air time seems to make it exceptionally balanced... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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