Knob Creek Bourbon 9 Year Old Bourbon

Knob Creek Bourbon 9 Year Old is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey from the Jim Beam family of distilleries in Clermont, Kentucky. Bottled at 100 proof and aged for a full nine years in new charred American oak barrels, Knob Creek 9 was created in 1992 by Booker Noe as part of Beam's original small-batch collection. It anchors the premium tier of the Beam lineup and is one of the most-shipped 100-proof bourbons in our Bourbon collection.

Knob Creek Bourbon 9 Year (750mL) is $49.99 at Bourbon Central. The pricing puts it in the sweet spot for a 9-year-aged 100-proof bourbon — you're paying for the extra ageing and the higher proof, but staying under the $50 ceiling that defines the everyday-premium bracket. For more under-$50 picks at this quality level, see our Best Bourbons Under $50 buying guide.

Knob Creek 9 opens with bold aromas of caramel, vanilla, toasted oak, and dark fruit. On the palate, expect rich brown sugar, maple, baking spice, and a clear oak influence from the nine years in the barrel, finishing long and warming with hints of cinnamon and a touch of leather. The 100 proof (50% ABV) carries the flavors with more density than the 80–90 proof everyday shelf — you taste the bourbon, not the alcohol. For the structured way to evaluate a bourbon at this proof, see our how-to-taste-bourbon-like-a-pro guide.

Yes — Knob Creek 9 is one of the most-recommended bourbons for cocktails because the 100 proof keeps the bourbon character present after the bitters, sugar, and ice arrive. It's the textbook Old Fashioned base, an excellent Manhattan, and works in almost any classic bourbon cocktail. It's anchored in our Memorial Day Old Fashioned batch guide as one of the six bourbons that make a better batch. For lower-proof cocktail alternatives, Buffalo Trace ($78.99) is the 90-proof option from Frankfort.

The two bottles are the same mash bill from the same Clermont distillery, with three years of additional ageing separating them. Knob Creek 12 Year ($79.99) trades the brighter caramel and dark fruit of the 9 Year for heavier oak, more vanilla density, and a deeper char-note finish — the extra three years in the rickhouse stacks the oak influence noticeably higher. The 12 Year is the step-up gift; the 9 Year is the everyday workhorse. Both are anchored in our single barrel vs. small batch deep-dive.

The broader Beam-family lineup includes Knob Creek 12 Year ($79.99) for extra age, Booker's Bourbon Big Easy Batch 2026-01 ($98.99) for the cask-strength sibling, Bulleit Bourbon ($37.09) for the high-rye Beam-distilled cousin, and the standard 80-proof small batch as the entry tier. All sit in the Best Sellers rotation. The bourbon-collector progression from Knob Creek 9 is typically Knob Creek 12 → Booker's → allocated single-barrel store picks.