Knob Creek Quarter Oak is a bourbon finished in quarter casks — smaller barrels that increase the ratio of wood surface area to liquid, accelerating oak extraction and creating heavy oak notes that are then batched back with Knob Creek Straight Bourbon Whiskey to balance the intense oak with the traditional sweet notes of dried fruit and brown spice, producing a bourbon that is simultaneously bolder and more structured than the standard expression.
Quarter casks are smaller than standard 53-gallon barrels — typically 13 gallons — meaning the whiskey contacts proportionally more wood per liter of liquid. This accelerated extraction produces heavier oak, more tannins, and more pronounced wood character in a shorter period than standard barrel aging. Knob Creek uses a minimum of four years in quarter casks before batching the wood-forward result back with standard Knob Creek Straight Bourbon to achieve balance — the heavy oak of the quarter cask component integrated with the vanilla sweetness and brown spice of the standard bourbon produces a more complex and structured whiskey than either component achieves alone.
Tasting Notes
- Nose: Heavy oak and charred wood from the quarter cask with the underlying caramel and brown sugar of the Knob Creek base
- Palate: Bold oak leading into dried fruit and brown spice, balanced by the sweet vanilla and caramel of the base bourbon
- Finish: Slightly sweet and charred oak with lingering dryness from the quarter cask tannins
Specs
- Distillery: Jim Beam, Clermont, Kentucky
- Style: Quarter Cask Finished Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Finish: Minimum 4 years in quarter casks, batched with straight bourbon
- ABV: 50% (100 Proof)
- Size: 750ml
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