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Knob Creek Cask Strength 128 Proof Review + 2025 Parker’s Heritage Whiskey and Bold Gaming Opinions
May 6, 2026
Clifton breaks down one of the boldest store picks he's tried in a while: a 128-proof Knob Creek Cask Strength Single Barrel from K&L Wine Merchants. Along the way, he dives into hot whiskey news, including the experimental 2025 Parker’s Heritage release, a Hungarian oak-aged "bourbon" from A. Smith Bowman, and legendary game developer Hideo Kojima’s critique of the modern video game industry. Plus, a listener call-in asks what releases Clifton’s most excited for in the second half of the year. 0:00 Welcome to the Bourbon Bytes Podcast 1:09 Whiskey News: Parker’s Heritage 2025 – 3-Mash Bill Mystery 5:36 A. Smith Bowman’s Hungarian Oak Release 7:39 Kojima Speaks: The State of Modern Gaming 12:40 Listener Call: Most Anticipated Whiskey & Game 16:39 Byte-Sized Review: Knob Creek 128 Proof Cask Strength Single Barrel (K&L Pick)
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0:00
Today on the Bourbon Bites podcast, Heaven Hill is back with a new Parker's Heritage release
0:06
A. Smith Bowman Distillery explores Hungarian oak. One of the biggest names in gaming has something to say about the modern video game industry
0:13
Plus, I review one of the new cast-strength Knob Creek single barrel picks at 128 proof
0:30
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Bourbon Bites podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming
0:36
twist. I'm your host, Clifton, and this is the week of Thursday, August 7th, 2025. And if you're
0:43
following the channel, you realize that I am not doing a live stream this week because I am taking
0:47
a trip up to Seattle with one of my best friends from high school and even before that, Boy Scouts
0:53
and we're going to go see a concert. We're going to go tour the city. We're going to maybe drive out to one of the national parks so it should be a really good time but I will not be live
1:00
But I want to get this podcast out because there is some news and reviews I want to get out in
1:04
front of you guys. Some of which I am very very excited about and hope I get a chance to try
1:09
This first one is coming to us from Bardstown, Kentucky. This was just announced earlier this
1:14
week. This is the new 2025 Parker's Heritage Collection release from Heaven Hill. So this one
1:20
is a bit different than any of the ones I've seen recently. So this is actually a blend of three
1:25
different mash spills. The minimum age is 11 years old, but they're considering it an American whiskey
1:30
because the culmination of all three of these. So listen, this has a 15-year-old Kentucky Straight
1:37
weeded bourbon, an 11-year-old Kentucky Straight corn whiskey, and a 12-year-old whiskey aged in
1:44
Rickhouse Y made exclusively from rye and malt. So this is essentially a four-grain American whiskey
1:52
made up of three different mash bills and I am very very interested in finding out why
1:59
So it says that this mash bill was aged in unique brick houses and floors and then married together
2:03
post-aging. It is being bottled at barrel proof which is 122.5 proof non-chill filtered of course
2:10
as with all other Progress Heritage releases and it will be available beginning in September
2:15
for a suggested retail price of $179.99. I've, for the most part, been a huge fan of the Parker's Heritage series
2:23
There have been a few misses in the releases that I've seen. This one, I have mixed feelings on
2:30
One, I do love a four grain, but I am interested in seeing why they chose to combine these three very, very different mash bills
2:39
And was it always the plan or are we combining three failed individual projects
2:45
Maybe it's just me, but when I first read the press release, I'm like, oh, all three of these sound like really cool products
2:50
but why are they being blended into a Parker's Heritage where we can't really taste them individually
2:55
I mean, an 11-year-old straight corn whiskey from Heaven Hill at Cast Strength would be amazing
3:01
I would love to try that. I know they had the older one that was, I think it was the 19-year corn whiskey they had as a special release a couple years ago
3:07
So, like, that in itself is interesting enough. A 15-year-old wheated bourbon from Heaven Hill sounds incredible
3:14
And then a custom mash bill, like they're just calling it an American whiskey, of just rye and malt
3:20
Maybe not as exciting as the first two, but like, I would be interested in trying it
3:25
So why are we combining three really cool, unique ideas that have never really been done before at Heaven Hill, at least to my knowledge, and blending them together to make a batch product
3:35
I don't know. I guess maybe it's just the pessimist in me. I'm starting to say, like, maybe these are all just failed experiments
3:41
They just didn't taste good on their own. So they're like, let's let's blend them together and see what happens. I don't want to think like that
3:46
I would love to think that this was intentional, that this was always the plan all along. But it does make me very, very curious
3:52
I do want to try it as with every Parker's Heritage release. You know, it's definitely a try before you buy situation
3:58
Now, a reminder, Parker's Heritage Collection, they honor Parker Beam and his legacy and expanding the boundaries of American whiskey
4:05
It says this 19th edition is a celebration of innovation and craftsmanship, bringing together three mash bills and age statements to create a complex, bold whiskey that truly stands out
4:16
And with other releases, this is going to support ALS. They've raised more than $1.4 million since the start back in 2013
4:25
And it's gone towards ALS research and patient care. So it all goes to a good cause
4:30
I just feel like this release is kind of interesting. I almost would have rather them release all three of these separately and then maybe had a special
4:37
release with them all together. I just I can't even imagine how this thing tastes. I definitely
4:42
won't be blind buying this one especially at that price you know $179.99. It's not a bad price for a
4:47
limited edition bourbon. I've paid much more than that but I usually with Parker's Heritage I've at
4:52
least tried it first or have just heard amazing incredible things so this one's one that I'm
4:57
going to wait a little bit around to see if some people have some reviews of it. Maybe Heaven Hill will find me lucky enough to have a sample for review if so you guys will be the first to hear
5:05
but based on the description I'm intrigued I just don't feel like I am willing to just blind by this
5:12
one it just sounds too strange and it doesn't mean it's gonna be bad but it's definitely an
5:17
interesting combination of three different mash bills so curious have you guys seen this on the
5:22
shelves yet have you heard any reviews let me know I'm curious because I haven't seen anyone talk about this yet. Like I said, it was just announced this week. But yeah, that's definitely
5:30
one that I would definitely be trying before I buy is how I feel about it. Now, in other news
5:36
there is another new release that was just announced earlier this week as well. This is
5:41
the A. Smith Bowman Distillery. They are releasing another experimental oak series release
5:47
this time with Hungarian oak. Now, this is the third release in the series that is exploring oak
5:52
and this is going to be available via an online lottery running from August 11th through August 18th 2025 And you can find all the details about that lottery on their website asmithbowman slash spirits There a little banner right now up at the top that you can see how to enter to win that But this release sounds really really cool So I have a picture of it
6:13
here. It is a Virginia limited edition whiskey is how they label it. They say that the Abraham
6:18
Bowman Oak series was about challenging everything we thought we knew about aging whiskey
6:23
says their head distiller, David Bach. This experiment started more than 14 years ago with
6:27
former master distiller Truman Cox. French oak and American oak dazzled us with impressive flavors
6:33
and now Hungarian oak has delivered another delicious and unexpected whiskey. In many ways
6:39
all positive, Hungarian oak is the opposite of what we thought we would expect from an extended
6:43
age whiskey. Now this is a blend of whiskeys aged for 12 years in charred Hungarian oak barrels
6:49
It's bought out at 115 proof. Now it's interesting that it's being described as a bourbon on the
6:54
tasting notes. I'm seeing that on the press release as well. They say this bourbon has a brown velvet color but nothing else in this press release mentions that it's a bourbon we're not
7:01
saying anything about the mash bill we're seeing it described as an experimental whiskey and
7:05
unexpected whiskey but nothing about mash bill whatsoever so at least we have that to go off of
7:11
at least it claims to be a bourbon in one line of this press release the label doesn't call it a
7:16
bourbon it just says it's a virginia whiskey so take that with a grain of salt it could just be a
7:19
typo on the press release and it's also on their website too that's definitely interesting i'm very
7:24
excited to see it out in the world. I'd love a chance to try it. Now with it being a lottery
7:28
release I'm probably never going to see the light of day of this bottle but if you guys get a chance
7:32
to try it let me know. Is it a bourbon? Does it taste like a bourbon or is it completely different
7:38
Very very curious. Now interestingly enough our last piece of news does not come from the world
7:42
of whiskey but the bites part of the Bourbon Bites podcast. This is actually a gaming related
7:47
article and it's an actual interview with Hideo Kojima who is one of the biggest names in storytelling
7:53
a video game history, especially with Japanese video games. He's known for creating the Metal
7:58
Gear franchise and more recently the Death Stranding series, but he has some thoughts
8:04
about the current state of the video game industry and I find it hard to disagree. So he's speaking
8:09
out in this recent article from Essence magazine, not Essence like normal, but S-S-E-N-S-E dot com
8:18
But they did an interview with him towards the end of last month and he says that he is
8:22
disappointed with the state of the video game industry. And this is a feeling that I feel like
8:27
has been talked about, but hearing it from a big name who is so quintessential in video game making
8:34
it kind of solidifies the fact that a lot of us consumers have been saying over and over again
8:39
For example, he thinks that most interesting work is actually happening with indie games
8:44
while big budget studios are churning out things that are safe and tremendously boring
8:48
and those are his words and it makes you think you know I mean a lot of games we're seeing we're
8:52
seeing sequels or you know follow-up spinoff releases of other games and as much as I do
8:58
appreciate a good franchise I do have to agree the games that I've really found to be falling
9:02
in love with lately have been indie games I mean we just played Split Fiction which is from the
9:07
creators of It Takes Two and it's such a fun innovative game I mean the world building the
9:12
storytelling the characters are so dynamic and involved and I feel like a lot of time like the
9:17
big name game studios they're kind of rehashing the same thing over and over again like you know
9:21
there's a lot of military games that all kind of have the same formula he actually has a quote in
9:25
this article saying like he doubts that any of them have actually put together a gun in real life
9:29
and then when they countered the question he's like yeah and i actually know lots of ways to
9:33
kill people but he didn't elaborate on that part which is kind of hilarious honestly and it comes
9:38
at an interesting time because konami which is the company that he you know was involved with
9:42
is actually going to release Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, but a remake version of it
9:48
but they didn't involve him at all in the process. So they asked him if he was going to play it and
9:52
he laughed and said, no, I won't. So it makes total sense why he would have this feeling when
9:57
he is responsible for creating such an interesting IP, not just with Metal Gear Solid, but Death
10:02
Stranding as well. I mean, that is very much a film-like experience. Apparently he's a huge
10:07
film buff, which is amazing. He often puts commentary on social media of like movies he's
10:11
enjoying and taking selfies with different actors and things like that so he's a big film lover
10:15
and you can just see the cinematography in the Death Stranding games I mean it is the worlds are
10:20
so dynamic the characters facial expressions are so you know human-like I think that's what makes
10:25
it special he brings the emotion to the characters you know I think a lot of time these big studios
10:29
care more about people playing online and you know getting as many players they can you know
10:33
cashing in on DLC and things like that they're really losing the true storytelling element that
10:39
made video games what they are. For me personally, I will be way more interested in buying an indie
10:43
game, especially when it's a unique concept, than I ever would be in, you know, picking up the
10:48
seventh edition of Call of Duty or, you know, whatever like that. I mean, now, that being said
10:52
y'all know I love Grand Theft Auto and that series, but I think Rockstar is one of the exceptions to
10:56
the rule because they take so long on their games. They're not releasing a new game every year or every six months. They're really taking their time to build a new world for their characters
11:04
so I know maybe I'm a little bit biased because I do love Rockstar but I think you know when it
11:10
comes to video games in general there's there's very few big names in the industry that that take
11:15
things that seriously and their craft so seriously and we're seeing it way more with indie game
11:20
developers so I 100% support you know indie developers of games I used to have a segment on
11:24
the the podcast or maybe it was live streams it's been a couple years but I would highlight different
11:29
indie games and I would play them on Twitch and kind of talk about like the the stories of making
11:33
them. So I might bring that back. I do love a good, you know, underrated game or a game that's
11:38
kind of, you know, slowly working its way up the charts. I'd love to try it out and review it on
11:42
the channel. So you guys make sure to follow me on Twitch at Bourbon Bytes. Have it been live? I
11:47
went live a couple days ago to play this game called Peak, which is a multiplayer game. I've
11:51
been playing the past few nights with Steven and Fred from my bike club. Been a ton of fun. But
11:57
and then it's up there. There's a new game coming from that developer, too. And it's like, you know
12:01
blowing up So yeah I mean I think it not a new story to hear you know someone feel this way about the industry feeling like it going a bit stale But to hear it from such an iconic person in the industry maybe has more levity to it
12:14
And I'm hoping that game developers or the industry in general take something from this interview
12:19
So I really enjoyed reading it. I'll link to it down in the description of this episode. Just such a mastermind behind, you know, video game creation and storytelling
12:28
Huge, huge fan of Hideo Kojima. So definitely check it out. All right
12:32
well that does it for news this week thank you for uh humoring my uh gaming news here as well
12:37
we do have one more thing before we get into our whiskey review and it is a new segment of the
12:41
podcast where i'm going to answer you guys's questions from your phone calls or text messages
12:45
yes i open up a phone number specifically for this podcast i'd done it previously on the the last
12:51
version like season one of the podcast but i decided to reopen it because i think it would
12:55
be fun to have you guys call in and leave some questions um if you are curious about doing that
12:59
You can call me at 916-642-9837 or easier to remember, 916-64-BYTE, B-Y-T-E-S
13:08
Of course, I had to find a Bourbon Bites-related phone number here. But we do have our first caller who submitted a question for this week's podcast
13:17
So let's go ahead and play that. Hi, Cliffy. So the first question I have is what new or limited releases are you looking forward to most for the back half of 2025, either gaming or whiskey related? Thanks. Bye
13:35
All right. Well, if you didn't recognize that voice, that is our one and only Em. She is one of our bourbon wrenches here on the channel. She is incredible. She's been a guest on the podcast before. Thank you, Emily, for your question. I'm excited to answer both versions of the question, both whiskey and video games
13:52
but let's talk whiskey first this was a great time to ask this question because i actually got
13:58
one of the bottles that i've been looking for this year um it's going to be what i'm reviewing this
14:02
podcast episode actually so if you saw the title and everything this is the new cask strength
14:06
single barrel select from knob creek i am very very excited to get my hands on uh the first that
14:12
i've ever seen of the knob creek cask strength releases and at 128 proof i'm really really
14:17
excited to dive into this so we'll get into that just a second but i do want to mention in terms of
14:21
gaming that's also a great question originally it was obviously Grand Theft Auto 6 but that got
14:26
pushed to May of next year so I had to take another look and think back at what games I am excited for
14:33
and I saw one pop up on the list that's actually coming out uh on the 8th so basically the day after
14:39
you guys listen to this podcast it's called Mafia the Old Country as someone that really didn't grow
14:44
up playing the Mafia games but was aware of them for I think they were from PS2 and PS3 I recently
14:49
got a combo pack of them on steam and i've just started replaying them and they really hold such
14:56
replay value even now you know these are older releases but they are uh open world games which
15:01
you guys know i'm a huge fan of that's why i'm a big fan of the grand theft auto series but they're very specifically focused on like mafia mob crime families i i love seeing some
15:10
variety in the open world uh genre of video games now i don't know too much about this new release
15:15
i don't know i assume it says it's a prequel to the first game so i assume we're going to be going
15:19
back into the past to the 1940s kind of like the Mafia 1 and Mafia 2 releases but in like the new
15:25
gen of graphics and everything like that I'm super excited to see how this comes out but it says that
15:30
the premise of this game is it's going to be based during the 1900s in the fictional town of San
15:34
Celeste which was previously featured in Mafia 2 it's going to be set in like a Sicily Italy kind
15:40
of vibe it's based on the origins of the Sicilian Mafia the narrative follows Enzo Favara who
15:47
journeys from a childhood of indentured labor into Sicily's sulfur mines and then joining a
15:52
crime family so like I said I'm very very excited to see more about this I'm sure there's a trailer
15:57
that I haven't watched yet but that's definitely one of the the most anticipated games other than
16:01
Grand Theft Auto I'm looking forward to this year so you may catch me on Twitch streaming this game
16:06
soon I'm gonna be out of town this weekend but I'm gonna definitely pick it up shortly after release
16:11
so thank you Emily for the question I appreciate you guys reaching out and asking something that
16:16
you're interested in you guys feel free to give me a call like i will take calls at any time and i
16:20
will include them on future episodes reminder the phone number is 916-642-9837 or 916-64-bytes
16:30
whatever is easiest for you to remember but call in leave me a message i'd love to um
16:34
talk more to you guys and feature you guys on the show so cheers to that but we're not done here we're going to go into our bite-sized review
16:46
All right, well, as I teased earlier, this week I am reviewing the new
16:53
Cast Strength Single Barrel Select from Knob Creek. Now, this is an upgrade to their standard
16:59
Knob Creek Single Barrel Select program. These releases aren't coming in at the standard 120
17:03
proof. They're actually being bottled at Cast Strength, which is the first for the brand. The
17:07
only time I've seen it was with that release that came out for Travel that I reviewed earlier this
17:12
year. But this one is a single barrel select from K&L Wine and Spirits, which is my local liquor
17:17
store. This one's called Fifth Floor X Magic C. And they have a little bit of info about it here
17:23
on their website. So let me go ahead and get this poured and then I'll read a little bit about it
17:27
Now, this was part of actually three different picks that they did. So they had a Magic A
17:31
Magic B, and Magic C. They're all different proof, but they're all from the fifth floor of this
17:36
rickhouse. And the fifth floor is one of the higher floors. They say that this is really
17:40
saturated and it's the maximum amount of possible flavor for the time that they've been aged so both
17:45
of these are just under 10 years old they're bottled at nine years just a few months before
17:49
their 10th birthday so they are within the standard age range of recent knob creek picks but being
17:55
barreled at 128 proof i'm so excited to see what high proof knob creek or higher proof knob creek
18:02
is like should I say so let go and get this magic a a nose ah yeah classic knob creek nose I used to buy these all the time especially when they were up there in age you know from 10 11 12 years old um once since they went back down to the nine
18:17
year age statement i've bought them occasionally but not with as much vigor as i had bought before
18:22
actually i've been buying more than knob creek 12 year just the standard 100 proof version
18:26
then i've been picking up knob creek picks but now that we're seeing them at actual cast strength
18:31
i think that brings a little bit more of restored excitement for the releases pricing wise these
18:36
come in at about 65 same price as the the single barrel selects have been um but instead of being
18:41
you know filtered down to 120 proof these are being bottled at castret of course non-chill
18:45
filtered as well yeah nothing too um crazy on the nose it definitely smells like a very well-aged
18:51
very you know heavily oaked bourbon um that's what i love the most about knob creek i always say they
18:57
are like a saturated oak. It's like this oak has been drenched and like, you know, sucking up this
19:02
bourbon and spitting it out over and over again. That sounds weirdly sexual, but I just mean the
19:06
Kentucky heat, especially at the higher parts of these rickhouses. I mean, there is so much
19:10
going on with that distillate in the wood just, you know, breathing each other. Okay
19:15
enough breathing this whiskey. It's time to give it a taste. Let's try this Knob Greek cast shrimp
19:19
cheers oh wow yes okay hmm i do think that there's a pretty good impact on the fact that this is
19:27
higher proof than normal i mean it drinks hot don't get me wrong but you know what sometimes
19:31
i like a hot knob creek and this is definitely definitely a hot knob um i think that the flavor
19:38
profile honestly kind of reminds me of some of the bookers i've had some of the ones that i really
19:41
enjoyed actually um it's coming off as like an older oak it's not necessarily that like like you
19:47
know like I said the sappy kind of oak the saturated oak to me it's dry it's a lot drier
19:52
than a lot of knob creeks I've had maybe that's just because it's from the upper floors of the
19:56
rickhouse I mean I think you know knob creek in general tends to be a little bit of a sweeter bourbon but with this being held high in the rickhouses it's going to take on way more of
20:04
that oak characteristic because heat rises now on second sip I do find some of the more traditional
20:09
sweetness that I love about gem bean flavor profile it's not quite nutty but I will say
20:13
it's kind of a little bit in like the praline or praline wherever you're from, however you pronounce
20:17
it, a little bit of a burnt caramel kind of note. I think that's because it's reading that way
20:21
because the oak is so dry. It's coming across a little bit more of like, you know, an overcooked
20:27
kind of sweet versus like, you know, sometimes I'll say like a light caramel or like a creamy
20:32
caramel. This one's dark. This one's a bit bitter, but it's still really, really nice. But that being
20:37
said, you know, I don't think this carries with it the depth of some of those older picks that I've
20:41
had in the past. I mean, of course, you know, my brain instantly jumps to those like 14 to 15 year
20:46
old ones that quickly disappeared. And I don't want to hold everything to that standard because again, those were several years ago. They've not come out since. But I do remember, you know
20:54
even when we weren't quite that high in age, we were having some like 11, maybe 12 year old picks
20:58
of it that were just so, so good. I mean, even the Knob Creek 12, the 100 proof, like I said
21:03
it's like been a go to on my bar. I think 12 years for a Knob Creek and 12 years for an Elijah Craig
21:08
are the sweet spot for those whiskeys. Now, not every whiskey I feel that way about
21:12
but I feel like once I've tried those two at 12-year, not that I can't accept, you know, them being younger
21:17
it's just they've kind of set a bar for themselves, and I keep expecting that bar to be at least met
21:22
So do I think that this nine-year cast-strand single-barrel select is as good as like a 12-year-old, you know, 100-proof Knob Creek
21:30
It really depends what you're looking for. For me, I do love, you know, the boldness of the flavor
21:34
the richness of the oak, and I do appreciate that the proof boost we have here it just feel like it's missing a little bit
21:41
of the age that we got on those older picks what I would love to see is they start releasing older
21:47
barrels to be part of the single barrel select program especially with the ability for them to
21:51
be higher proof because again these barrels if they're sitting this high on the rickhouse guess what that proof is going to go up and up and up as the temperature you know kind of pulls the water
21:58
out of that bourbon so I mean I wouldn't be surprised if we saw like 130 plus proof knob
22:03
Creek pick coming in at you know 11 12 years old that's what I would be excited for I think this is
22:09
a step in the right direction I love that they didn't change the price but they just upped the
22:12
proof as a possibility that's really great I'm very excited for that but I still think with it
22:16
being limited to a 9 to 10 year old product you're not getting to see where Knob Creek or Jim Beam
22:21
in general as a distillery excels they really do excel at that higher age statement at least in my
22:26
experience I do think this is a step in the right direction I just don't think that it's going to
22:30
make me buy these as often as I used to because there was a point where if I saw a knob Greek
22:35
single barrel pick I'm buying a knob Greek single barrel pick but I'm definitely willing to keep a
22:40
closer eye on it now knowing that one you know this one was close to 10 years old so maybe they're
22:44
starting a little bit more stock aged for for these releases but I'm also going to start looking
22:49
at that proof because that makes a big difference so yeah it's a great pick and I'm very happy to
22:55
have bought it for $65 I just hope to kind of start seeing these go up in age kind of like they
23:00
used to be even if they don't get the full 14 15 year age they used to be i would love to see
23:04
something closer to 12 years old kind of like we see with elijah craig so that does it for this
23:09
week's episode let me know if you guys want to hear more gaming news like this scattered into
23:12
the episode i would love to talk about it more i just don't know what level you guys are interested
23:16
in of course if anything comes up with like retro gaming or you know arcades or 80s things like that
23:21
i'm obviously going to mention them which is kind of what inspired me with the hideo kojima story
23:25
earlier with it being you know such an iconic founder in the world of video games i had to
23:30
talk about that but um if there's any topics you guys are interested in let me know feel free to
23:34
give me a call like i said we have the new phone's number set up if you guys want to leave me a message so anytime you want to reach me you can call me at 916-642-9837 or 916-64-bytes so yeah
23:45
leave me a message i'm happy to answer it on next week's podcast or a future stream or maybe just
23:50
listen to it while i'm trying to fall asleep at night and enjoy hearing your voice but with that
23:54
this has been the bourbon bites podcast cheers and i'll talk to you guys next episode
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