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Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select vs Knob Creek 12 Year
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select and Knob Creek 12 Year sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, classically built classic versus an old-guard, rye-forward classic.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select | Knob Creek 12 Year |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Traditional Tennessee Whiskey | High-Rye Bourbon |
| Mash Bill 1 | 80% corn, 8% rye, 12% malted barley | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | 12 years |
| Proof | 94 proof (47% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) +6 proof |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$45 – $55 ~$13 less | ~$55 – $70 |
| Availability | Limited | Widely available easier to find |
- Knob Creek 12 Year does not publish an official mash bill.
- US shelf prices as of 2026-08; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Knob Creek 12 Year
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Knob Creek 12 Year
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
nuttiness 4/7 nuttiness: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 4 out of 10, Knob Creek 12 Year 7 out of 10
oak 7/9 oak: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 7 out of 10, Knob Creek 12 Year 9 out of 10
spice 5/6 spice: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 5 out of 10, Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10
fruit 4/3 fruit: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 4 out of 10, Knob Creek 12 Year 3 out of 10
sweetness 6/6 sweetness: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 6 out of 10, Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 5 out of 10, Knob Creek 12 Year 5 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
The house grain character is what splits these.
- Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select: Barrels pulled from the top of the rickhouse, where the temperature swings are hardest, and it shows as considerably more oak than any standard Jack. A genuinely different proposition from the black label.
- Knob Creek 12 Year: Three more years in the barrel than the standard Knob Creek, and the wood does all the talking. Deep oak and leather over the familiar Beam peanut note, drying toward genuinely tannic on the finish.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select if you want a distinctly oakier, more concentrated Tennessee whiskey with barrel-to-barrel character at a lower price point.
- Go with Knob Creek 12 Year if you want the Beam house profile pushed as far into oak as it goes while staying balanced with slightly more proof behind it.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks (Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select); neat, rocks (Knob Creek 12 Year).