Baker’s 13 vs. Knob Creek 13 Year Old Single Barrel Store Pick Bourbon Review

Today on the Bourbon Bites Podcast, I'm comparing Baker's 13-year-old bourbon with a 13-year-old

single-barrel pick from Knob Creek, talking about a nation facing a major bourbon shortage

and one of Kentucky's top tasters starting her own whiskey brand. Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bites Podcast. I'm your host Clifton and today's

episode is super special to me because it is brought to me by two friends of the show who

provided the samples for review on two separate occasions unrelated to each other. But I thought

it would be really fun to compare these two whiskeys. So what I have in front of me is a 13-year-old

baker's bourbon from Jim Beam from my friend David from Whiskey in My Wedding Ring, as well as a 13

and a half year Knob Creek single barrel pick from my friend Swan. So I thought, what other time

am I going to have a chance to compare two 13-year-old products from Jim Beam, one of my

favorite distilleries, and kind of decide, you know, what are the differences between the two

especially the older age statement, which we kind of hardly ever see anymore. And also

this is my first time trying a baker's 13-year-old, so I'm extremely excited for that. But I think it

makes the most sense for me to start with my beloved Knob Creek, one of my favorite bourbons

Now, I was lucky enough to get access to some of the 14, 15, and even 16-year-old Knob Creeks

a couple years ago when those were very prevalent around the area, at least here in Southern

California. So, this is a pick, like I said, that Swan sent along. Of course, my friend Fred also

has had a chance to try this one. This is a 13.5-year pick. It was part of a flight that OBC

Kitchen in Kentucky did, where they had three different whiskeys, one an 11-year, the 13.5

and a 15-year. And this was actually their favorite. So Swan picked up a bottle and sent

me a very, very generous sample of that one. So I'm going to start with that one and then

give you my thoughts. Of course, they're probably going to be pretty amazing because y'all know I love Knob Creek. But then we're going to do a comparison with the 13-year-old Bakers, which

I have a little bit of a cheat sheet here to see what the differences between these two are

because they are both coming from the Jim Beam Distillery out of Claremont, Kentucky

They actually have the same mash bill, but there is one subtle difference between these two that maybe we'll be able to pick out on the palate

So without further ado, let's go and get that Knob Creek poured. So like I said, we're dealing with the same mash bill here, the same barrel entry proof

However, these two whiskeys do come off the still at two different proofs

that may contribute to the difference in taste. So our beloved Knob Creek comes off the still at 130 proof, where Baker's typically comes off the still at 125 proof

So it seems like a very subtle difference, but I'm really excited to see the differences between these two

I have had Baker's before, the older release as well as the newer single barrel, but that's the 7 year, not the 13 year

So I'm going to get that port at the same time, but first, let me try Knob Creek

Now this comes in at 120 proof, which is the standard proof for their single barrel selections

It's also worth mentioning that this is a pick compared to the Baker's that is not a pick

However, you know, 13 years at the distillery, there's got to be something special about that

barrel. They wouldn't have kept it so long. So let's go and give this a nose. Ah, man, everything I love about Knob Creek. That is just such a typical standard nutty

kind of flavor profile. One that I've missed because I know that we can't get these older

picks anymore. But man, when I smell it, I just fall in love

Now, being a 13 and a half year pick, this is a good bit older than the more recent ones that are coming out

So there is a ton of wood on this. It's definitely not a new oak

It's more of an older, rich, saturated oak, as I often say

And it's just bursting on the nose along with that nuttiness. I mean, this is a very dark, rich bourbon, and I can't wait to take a sip

So I'm going to go ahead and do that. Cheers. Oh, man

Holy moly, is that dark. I forget. It's been a minute since I've had one of these older Knob Creek picks, but wow, that is so tannic, like oaky tannins, which I do typically enjoy

I love my bourbons big and bold and oaky and nutty. And this is checking all of those dark boxes

Now, I will say, I remember these being a bit sweeter. Maybe it just this pick but there so much oak and so much dark richness on there that I not getting as much of the brown sugar some of the caramel that I typically get on a Knob Creek

It's nutty, but like a roasted peanut, kind of like a dry, maybe a little salty, but those

dry roasted peanuts you get like in a bag. None of the sweet, you know, like peanut butter kind of notes or anything like that

This one, like I said, man, this is dark, which at 13 and a half years, I mean, obviously

you expect that, but wow. I guess it's just been so long since I've had this. And even though this Knob Creek is so dark

there's a bit of like a bright citrus kind of sweetness to it, almost like a candied lemon

that kind of leaves you with like a bit of tartness along with that tannic element of the oak. And

honestly, I think that's what really makes this Knob Creek pick so unique. To me, it's unlike any

other pick I've ever had. I think I was a bit caught off guard by that. That's kind of why I

was so surprised by how dark and, you know, deep this was in flavor. But when you look at it a

little bit further and take another sip you really get that bright um yeah like a like a bit of a

citrus tartness to it that really really complements that dry dark oaky flavor this one is

just i mean if you're having a really rough day and you want something really dark then then that

might be the one to go for maybe if you're alessio on uh dungeons and drams if y'all aren't yet

watching our live streams we do every tuesday night um it's so much fun we do a um dungeons

and dragons campaign uh with jason from the mash and drum bill from the whiskey dick is our dungeon

master ed from the rock gut review is another player as well as molly from hugging the cactus

we have so much fun for that there's actually a podcast version of it now um so just search your

favorite podcast app for dungeons and drams um you'll find that but alessio or jason's character

is his big thing he's like he's so dark well this is the bourbon for him because this is one of the

darkest bourbons i've ever had this one personally for me is missing a little bit of the sweetness

and that's where i'm hoping this baker's brings it back out because my experience with baker's at

least the younger ones, the younger single barrels, it has a bit more of a fruity note to it

So I'm really excited to try this 13-year-old version of it and, you know, see how it compares

directly with this Knob Creek. Because other than like the off the still proof, these two are very

very similar. Now the Baker's 13-year comes in at 107 proof. So it's a little bit lower proof

I only wanted to try the Knob Creek first because that's my go-to Jim Beam product

especially at the older ages. But this one is going to be a little bit lower proof

you know about 13 proof points lower the msrp was a hundred dollars but again i saw it one time in

a store but they were charging 150 and i was like yeah i'll find it cheaper and never did so thank

you thank you david for the opportunity to try it so let's go ahead and move on over to the baker's

13 year single barrel um now first glance by the way i have both of these poured at the same time

the baker's is a little bit lighter in color i'm actually surprised about that um now it is lower

waterproof. You know, there is a little bit more water added to it, which is most likely contributing to that, but I definitely wasn't expecting it to be so different just color-wise

but let's go ahead and give it a nose. Oh, yeah. Wow. Very different. I kind of was expecting it

but I'm also kind of caught off guard by how different it is. I will still say it has those

lovely oaky notes that are there, but this one's to me less nutty. It's more of like a sweeter note

I can't quite place the sweetness on the nose. I've always said, you know, I'm not the best

at nosing. I think I really can understand flavors a bit more once I've tried them. But on the nose

I think I'm getting a little bit of that caramel brown sugar sweetness that I kind of thought I would find on the Knob Creek, but maybe that's more of like the younger ones or even some Booker's

releases. Yeah, I wasn't getting any of that sweet caramel kind of vanilla note on the Knob Creek

but let's go ahead and try the Baker's 13 and get a first taste of that one. Cheers

oh wow wow that is so good and this is coming from a knob creek lover that just caught me off

guard with how fruity how like i almost feel like it's rye forward i'm getting a lot more rye spicy

even though this is the same mash bill as far as i'm aware um all my charts you know link them

together it's the same the same mash bill but man there's a lot more fruitiness a lot more sweetness

You know, they do age these in different parts of the Rickhouse as well

It's not just the off the still proof. There are other factors that contribute to them being different flavors

But wow, I was not expecting this 13-year-old Jim Beam produced bourbon to taste like this

This one, to me, it still has the richness and the depth of the 13-year-old Knob Creek

but it doesn't go as dark. It has the oak I would say the oak is probably equally as dark but it definitely a bit toned down the nuttiness again is maybe I don want to say nowhere to be found because there a little hint of it there as with all Jim Beam products

But there's something about the fact that this has so much influence from this fruitiness

this sweetness, that to me, that screams bakers. Like I said, I've had some of the seven-year-old bakers

I've had even some of the eight-year-old single barrels I think I've had. It's the oldest I've had. It's like eight years, nine months

this one though fruity sweet oaky man this is my jam and that's coming from someone that absolutely

adores knob creek now this one msrp is a hundred dollars have i found it for that no it came out

back in 2019 i've never seen another bottle other than that one that i saw for 150 i would absolutely

love if this were a regular on the shelf again hundred dollars you know you're getting a 13 year

old bourbon how often can you find a bourbon over the age of 12 years that's that's basically that

price. Of course, I've got to talk about, you know, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, one of my favorite

bourbons from my other favorite distillery, Heaven Hill. That one is a 12-year-old barrel strength

you know, batch release. There are some single barrels coming out. I know the single barrels of

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof that I've seen that are picks especially are somewhat younger. Some of

them are like the 9, 10, 11-year-old range. I'm paying around $80 to $90 for those. So for a single

barrel Jim Beam 13 year old product for $100 with bakers I think that's a solid win now again both

of these are wins again the Knob Creek was $60 at least I don't know about this particular pick

again this is sent to me thankfully for my friend Swan but if you are a Knob Creek fan you can often

find single barrel picks for around 50 or 60 dollars now nowadays they're going to be a bit

younger than the the the age statement of you know 13 14 15 years like we saw a few years ago but

But I mean, for the price, the proof, those are fantastic. However, if these were the same price, the Knob Creek 13 versus the Baker's 13, I'd have to go with the Baker's

I think it's more balanced. I think it's more interesting. It has that fruitiness, that sweetness

It's all these layers of age where it comes from the oakiness

There's a bit of a leather note there as well combined with the sweetness, the brown sugar

There's a bit of a fruitiness there. It's a dark fruit. but I mean it's it's way more balanced yeah the finish is a little bit shorter than the Knob Creek

I think the Knob Creek definitely was the winner there um but overall experience and flavor profile

and um based on my love of Jim Beam Baker's 13 has the win here like I said that's based on if

these were the same price you know the Knob Creek's a good bit cheaper they're both they're both

winners in their own category I just don't think these are comparable I think the the Baker's 13

year is a step above, significantly above Knob Creek. Now compared to like a Booker's, again

this is like over twice the age of a Booker's, about the same price these days. I'll be honest

with you. You know, last week's podcast, I reviewed a vintage Booker's from 1995 compared to a Booker's

from 2020. I would take this Baker's 13 year over both of those any day for the same price

So I know I've been on a little bit of a gem beam kick here, but like I said, one of my favorite distilleries. So I wanted to share my thoughts with you guys about these two

releases. I'm curious to hear if any of you have had either of these, you know, do you love the

older Knob Creek, you know, the 13, 14, 15 year releases, or do you prefer the younger ones that

are coming out now that are, you know, nine to 10 years old? Let me know if you want me to come back

and try this, you know, older Knob Creek release versus one of the more recent, you know, nine to

10 year old releases. Maybe I prefer the younger ones. I don't know. Never done a side by side

But if that's something you want to see, let me know on our Whiskey and Gaming Lounge Discord server

or you can find it at BourbonBytes.com. We have a channel to discuss all the episodes of the podcast

so really looking forward to your feedback on this episode. But yeah, I mean, I'm so glad to try both of these side-by-side

Bakers gets the win today, but I don't plan on stopping buying Knob Creek. I love them both

I just wish I could get the Bakers 13 in 2022 for a decent price

So we do have a couple pieces of news here to discuss

one of which was brought to my attention by patrons of the show on our last hangout

Apparently, the nation of New Zealand is having a pretty severe bourbon shortage

Now, of course, you know, we're experiencing a lot of shortages across the world right now

with supply chain and things like that. But apparently the supply chain issues, the shipping delays

and a growing popularity of hard liquor especially bourbon in New Zealand is really causing such a bottleneck on the spirit So this has been kind of an international issue since 2021 you know the pandemic kind of shutting things down But New Zealand seems to be hit hard by this especially when it comes to bourbon

They say that people were drinking significantly more during the pandemic, which right there with

them. But they say for months, retailers and especially the customers have been struggling

to get some of their favorite brands. Now, in New Zealand and Australia, ready to drink bourbon

cocktails are very popular. I know there's quite a few wild turkey ones that are exclusive

overseas. A lot of those have been hit by the fact that bourbon is hard to get, as well as CO2

They're facing a pretty significant CO2 shortage, which is really hitting the ready-to-drink cocktail

industry hard. And we saw how popular those have been rising. I mean, I just did a stream with my

friend Brandon where we compared a bunch of different canned cocktails that were, you know

most of them carbonated. So apparently overseas they're having trouble keeping up with the demand

It says this year there was a 22% increase compared to two years ago when it comes to the demand for bourbon buyers

People are buying more than 2 million liters of bourbon a year in a nation that has only got 3.65 million adults

So that's like a pretty big increase compared to previous years. And fun fact, there's also a shortage of chicken nuggets in New Zealand

This is also apparently impacted by the lack of CO2 access. It sounds like one of the major factories down there is under maintenance until August

So they're not able to create their own CO2 and their sources are having to be shipped in

And it's a whole mess. So if you want your bourbon and nuggies, you may not want to go to New Zealand anytime soon

But in more positive news, this has kind of been talked about on several podcasts and shows

But we have to mention the legend herself, Jackie Zykan, former master taster of Old

Forrester is leaving the company to start her own lineup of bourbon. So she's launching Hidden

Barn Spirits in collaboration with 5-2-80 Whiskey Society, as well as Neely Family Distillery

President Royce Neely. So she's going to be working as the master blender there, which is

super exciting. It's going to be a very small team. But I feel like, you know what, this is

well-deserved. I mean, she's obviously one of the best tasters, one of the most prominent

not just women in the Kentucky bourbon industry, but just she's known as, you know, the master

taster. So I'm so excited for her to kind of go on, branch out. She's made such a name for herself

at Brown Foreman and Old Forrester. I can't wait to see what she does as, you know, a master blender

She's been doing quite a bit of that kind of with the, I think it was the 117 series at Old Forrester

So she definitely has, you know, incredible experience she's learned there. But to go on

to do her own thing. I think this is the perfect time for her. I think last year that was the first

time she ever got her name on a bottle at Old Forrester. So she's left her mark figuratively

and literally at Old Forrester. And this seems like a very, very exciting move. It says at Hidden

Barn, she'll be focused on tasting and ensuring post-distillation quality, similar to the experience

she had at Old Forrester. She tells Forbes magazine that she's looking forward to transitioning into

ownership at Hidden Barn and using her tasting stills to grow a brand on her own. And apparently

as early as later this month, Hidden Barn will be releasing their first small batch Kentucky

straight bourbon whiskey. It's going to be from the Neely Family Distillery. Now, of course

this is the first release. We don't know how long this has been aging. I have no info on it other

than it's going to be a small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. So definitely not super

young, but still, it makes me excited for things to come. And most of all, congratulations, Jackie

That's such a big move. Not that she's really listening to this, but she might. You never know

Super excited for you, not just for making a name for yourself, but just being a champion

for women in the industry. I think you are just a role model inspiration and just an amazing person

So congratulations. So that does it for this week's episode. I know it was very whiskey focused, but we're going to have to throw in some video game

references at least next episode. Thank you all so much for listening

If you do want to support the show, make sure you follow me on your favorite podcast platform

leave me a rating and review if it's available and make sure to tune into my Thursday night

youtube live streams at youtube.com slash bourbon bites thank you to all my patrons and

bite club members over on youtube y'all really make this show possible and couldn't do it without

you so until next time this has been the bourbon bites podcast cheers and i'll talk to you next episode