Behind the Scenes: Knob Creek Private Barrel Selection

February 07, 2018

Last June Joshua Thinnes of the PlumpJack Wine Stores & Jesse Caetano from Balboa SF traveled to Kentucky to select private barrels of whiskey for the PlumpJack Group. We went to Maker's Mark and Jim Beam distillery, along with Heaven Hill and Willett distillery.

Knob Creek bourbon is distilled at Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky, about 45 minutes south of Louisville. Jim Beam is one of the most prolific and globally recognized bourbon brands in the world. Knob Creek bourbons represent a small portion of the whiskey they distill, their most common product being Jim Beam white label.

When selecting barrels for private bottling, the process will vary based on the distillery, but in general you'll embark on a private tour of the facilities with a veteran guide, including a stop in the warehouses where the selection process takes place. Most distilleries give you the opportunity to select from three different barrels, while others will let you try as many as you want (or can stand!). Here we sampled bourbon whiskey right out of the cask, un-cut at barrel proof.

We individually blind sampled the different casks, and wrote down our favorite. Selecting our favorite was a unanimous decision, as we all preferred the oldest and lowest proof whiskey in the bunch. After selection, the barrels are sealed up and scheduled for bottling where they will be branded with our very own label denoting our selection. Bottles are limited and can only be found at our PlumpJack retail locations or Balboa San Francisco.

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