Knob Creek Small Batch Bourbon is one of four bourbons that comprise Jim Beam’s Small Batch Bourbon Collection. The others are Basil Hayden, Baker’s Bourbon, and Booker’s Bourbon.

‍‍Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye is essentially a blend of Knob Creek Bourbon and Knob Creek Rye, bottled at a higher 113 proof point. The blend percentages and ages of the whiskeys in the blend are noted prominently on the bottle’s label. Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye is currently planned to be a limited edition bottling as opposed to a permanent brand line extension, and as a result, will be available nationwide for a limited time.

There’s a healthy amount of spice up front, characterized by baking spices and rye spice. An undercurrent of caramel washes in, along with green apple and a slight nuttiness. It’s more rye than bourbon, with spice overpowering the sweeter scents. Even with the spice and at 113 proof, it’s still tame and approachable.

Baking spices, white pepper, and orange peel are noticeable right away. Caramel and brown sugar join and overpower the initial spice notes, bringing a wash of sweet flavor into the mix. There’s an additional hint of aged oak and an underlying nuttiness. Despite the heavier spice at the onset it’s even-tempered throughout.

Spice emerges as the stronger component again, with baking spices, cinnamon, black pepper, and rye spice. Brown sugar and caramel quickly pull in against the spice, creating an equal balance between the whiskey’s sweet and spicy sides for the first time in the sip. Overall, it’s a good ending for a surprisingly easy-to-sip whiskey that dances between sweet and spice notes.

It seems like a long time since Wild Turkey Forgiven was released over a decade ago. Forgiven was a blend of bourbon and rye whiskeys that was marketed as a whiskey created by a distillery employee, who accidentally combined bourbon and rye and who was “forgiven,” hence the whiskey’s name. Wild Turkey grabbed the bull by the horns and marketed the story, later releasing additional intentional bourbon-rye blends but ultimately discontinuing the series.

With American whiskey’s increasing focus on blending, blending bourbon with rye has become a common and increasingly popular trend. However, while there are some releases such as High West’s Bourye (now an annual release), it’s less commonly marketed as purely bourbon plus rye, and even less commonly a simple combination of two readily available, already established brands.

Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye brings two familiar Knob Creek whiskeys together. Not surprisingly, given that rye makes up 70% of the blend, it’s clearly more influenced by its rye component throughout the sip. The inclusion of bourbon doesn’t go unnoticed though, most notably with the caramel and brown sugar flavors that weave their way into the sip and finally find balance in the finish. A big takeaway from the whiskey is that at 113 proof, it’s surprisingly easy to drink.

Effectively combining two readily available whiskeys, you could easily experiment with blending your own combination of Knob Creek Bourbon and Knob Creek Rye at home. But by releasing this whiskey at 113 proof, Beam has made it more difficult to recreate exactly the same combination, as you would need to get Knob Creek Single Barrel Bourbon or Single Barrel Select Bourbon (120 proof) and Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye (115 Proof) or Knob Creek Rye Cask Strength (cask strength) and then add a small percentage of water to your blend to dial it in exactly.

To Beam’s credit, I think Knob Creek Rye is often overlooked, so if Bourbon x Rye succeeds at doing one thing, it may bring consumer attention to the brand’s rye whiskey.

Knob Creek’s readily available whiskeys are known for their high value; as punch for punch their quality and availability is hard to beat. Knob Creek 9 Year Small Batch Bourbon and Knob Creek Small Batch Rye both come in at 100 proof and are priced around $35. Dialing up their proof for the single barrel variations only adds about $10, but clocks the bourbon at 120 and the rye at 115 proof.  Knob typically dials up age, proof, and price with limited releases, but not always all aspects, as exemplified by Knob Creek 18 Year’s 100 proof point, though it was released in 2022 at $170 and is planned again for 2024 at $175. Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye was bottled at cask strength and last released in 2018 at $70, and for a tremendous value Knob Creek 12 Year clocks in around $60, though it’s bottled at the lower 100 proof point.

All of that considered, Beam chose to bring Bourbon x Rye in on the value side of their release spectrum, bringing in a whiskey blend for the masses. That makes the release highly accessible, and presumably seeks to put the flavor aspects of Knob Creek Rye in front of a much wider audience to raise awareness. At $45, it’s clearly a whiskey both Knob Creek fans and anyone who wants to dabble with rye flavors should pick up.

I’m a big fan of Knob Creek, and I especially enjoy their Single Barrel Bourbon, which I consider one of the best whiskeys money can buy for under $50. I’m less drawn to Knob Creek Rye, but because it’s a very inoffensive rye that runs more down the middle, it’s a great starter rye for anyone who has yet to dabble in the spicier side of American whiskey.

Knob Creek Bourbon x Rye drinks less than its 113 proof, and despite some movement between rye and bourbon flavors, with a heavier focus on rye, it finds a nice balance in its finish. The whiskey’s flavor profile is more easy going than memorable, but at its price point, that’s alright. Those familiar with both Knob Creek bourbon and rye will find it easy to distinguish that it’s a blend of the two.

On the critical side, bourbon-rye blends mute the flavors of their counterparts - less sweet than the bourbon component and also less spicy than the rye component. To that end, there are few bourbon-rye blends that have sustained momentum in the marketplace, if any, so while I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bourbon x Rye become an ongoing release, I also wouldn’t be surprised if consumers bought a single bottle and then called it one-and-done. I give Beam a ton of credit for keeping the price accessible at $45, and I think it will do more to draw Knob Creek bourbon fans over to the rye side than anything.