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      Four Gate Whiskey Announces Release 15.1, 15.2, & 15.3: The Bluegrass Trilogy

      By BillNovember 30, 20210
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      November 30, 2021

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    ModernThirst
    The selection team
    Bourbon

    The ModernThirst Barrel Selection

    BillBy BillJuly 9, 2016Updated:August 9, 20161 Comment4 Mins Read

    knob creek barrel pick 7716 (45)ModernThirst and the Party source met in Clermont on July 7th to select a barrel of Knob Creek bourbon.   We met at the American Stillhouse at 10 AM and after some brief introductions, we headed straight to warehouse K where the selection would take place.

    Because we were actually selecting two barrels, once for the ModernThirst/TPS collaboration and one for TPS, we were greeted by six barrels instead of the traditional three.  To keep from influencing us, we weren’t told the ages until after we tasted.

    knob creek barrel pick 7716 (86)Barrel 1 Checked in at 126.1 Proof and was aged on the 4th floor in warehouse L, a seven story rick house.  It was initially rife with aromas of vanilla and caramel on the nose, and had plenty of butterscotch on the palate, with some light oak.  We splashed it with water and were greeted by rich orange peel and lemon zest on the nose, and a slight cinnamon and baking spice finish.  It was the sweetest of the bunch.

     

    knob creek barrel pick 7716 (87)Barrel 2 came to us from the 4th floor of warehouse P.  It was 125.6 proof at tasting.  The nose was heavy with a dark smokiness, a huge contrast from barrel 1.  The palate was heavy with charcoal, barrel char, and burnt brown sugar.  The char was actually plainly visible in the glass when tasting.

     

    knob creek barrel pick 7716 (88)Barrel 3 came from warehouse J, and was aged on the 6th out of 9 total floors.  It was higher ABV, at 131.4 proof, and the nose was as different as could be.  There was a smokiness, but this was heavy with peat-like notes, and smelled like a Highland Scotch.  True to the nose, it also tasted like Scotch.  There was a ton of smoke, oiled leather, and tobacco on the palate.

     

    knob creek barrel pick 7716 (89)Barrel 4 was another option from the 4th floor of warehouse P.  Unlike barrel 2, however, this one trended to the sweet much more than the smoky.  Cloves and cinnamon on the nose were followed by toffee, caramel, and coffee cake on the palate.  It was the lowest proof of the barrels at 124.7 proof.

     

    knob creek barrel pick 7716 (90)Barrel 5 was another from warehouse J and yet again from the 6th of 9 floors.  This one was sweet on the nose with simple sugar and vanilla, with light oak, mild butterscotch, and coffee on the palate.  It clocked in at 132.2 proof, making it the highest proof barrel we tasted.

     

    knob creek barrel pick 7716 (91)Our final Barrel came yet again from the 4th floor of warehouse P.  It was heavy with cinnamon, caramel, and dark fruits on the nose.  The palate was a unique combination of briny salt and sweet flavors including dark cocoa and salted caramel.  The finish was rife with heavy dark chocolate, but developed some bitterness right at the end that some of the tasters didn’t care too much for.

    When it came time to decide, I was torn between Barrels 1 and 6.  The 6th barrel had a slight issue on the finish, but I’d never tasted the chocolate and cocoa from a Jim Beam offering before, and I thought it was easily the most unique of the barrels.  Still, barrel #1 was the sweetest, and we all agreed it likely had the most mass appeal, and would likely maintain its flavor profile the best when watered down to 120 proof for the final bottling.  So we happily chose barrel #1.

    Our pick

    To our surprise and delight, we found that our barrel was originally filled on Halloween 2006, making it 9 years, 8 months, and 7 days old.  We dubbed it the “Ghost Barrel.”

    From there, we were on to the dumping. It yielded 31 gallons of whiskey.  IT needed 1.3 gallons of water to bring it down to proof and that left us with 26 cases of ModernThirst and TPS Private Barrel Knob Creek.

    Barrel dump

    And then we were on to the bottling.  The bottling line is automated, but we did get to affix our own “selected by” labels.

    That’s us!

    We then had lunch, met with Fred Noe (always a fantastic experience), and toured the distillery.

    ?

    Our team bought one case to take home, leaving 25 cases of 6 that will be sold on the shelves at The Party Source in a couple of weeks.

    Once it’s on shelves, you can actually reserve a bottle online at The Party Source to pick up and purchase at the store.  Trust me, this is a good bottle of bourbon.  You’ll want it.

     

     

    Our pick
    The Finished Product
    That’s us!
    I only needed one hand.
    Matt hard at work, double fisting
    This is one tough job
    Really, blogging about whiskey is a sacrifice
    The selection team
    Barrel dump
    Matt & Bill at Jim Beam

     

     

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    Bill
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    Bill is the Co-Founder, Editor-in Chief, and official Bourbon-o-Phile for ModernThirst.com, and Founder and Chief Blending Officer for Four Gate Whiskey Company. He is a native of Louisville, KY in the heart of Bourbon Country. He attended the University of Kentucky in the mid to late 1990s. He has also been published on Liquor.com. He has conducted various bourbon and whiskey tastings in cities across the country, and consulted for multiple national labels. He is married with two daughters, and lives in east Louisville. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @BillStraub and email him at Bill@ModernThirst.com.

    Related Posts

    Four Gate Whiskey Announces Release 15.1, 15.2, & 15.3: The Bluegrass Trilogy

    November 30, 2021

    Old Forester 21st Release of Annual Birthday Bourbon

    August 24, 2021

    Press Release: Old Forester’s Next Release in the 117 Series Features a Blend of Barrels Aged Solely in Warehouse K 

    August 20, 2021

    1 Comment

    1. David on July 19, 2016 2:58 pm

      Thank you for all the data on this! Great read

      Reply

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