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Knob Creek 12 Year vs Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series
Knob Creek 12 Year and Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, rye-forward classic versus a new-wave, classically built craft style.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Knob Creek 12 Year | Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon | Traditional Bourbon |
| Mash Bill 1 | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley | Not disclosed |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Proof | 100 proof (50% ABV) | 98.9 proof (49.5% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$55 – $70 | ~$55 – $70 |
- Knob Creek 12 Year and Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series do not publish an official mash bill.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
Knob Creek 12 Year
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Knob Creek 12 Year Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
nuttiness 7/3 nuttiness: Knob Creek 12 Year 7 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 3 out of 10
oak 9/6 oak: Knob Creek 12 Year 9 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 6 out of 10
fruit 3/6 fruit: Knob Creek 12 Year 3 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 6 out of 10
sweetness 6/7 sweetness: Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 7 out of 10
spice 6/5 spice: Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 5 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: Knob Creek 12 Year 5 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 5 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
The house grain character is what splits these.
- 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.
- Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series: A blend of Bardstown's own young distillate with older sourced Kentucky whiskey, which is exactly what the name describes. Polished and fruit-leaning, and a clear demonstration that the blending is the skill on show.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Knob Creek 12 Year if you want the Beam house profile pushed as far into oak as it goes while staying balanced.
- Go with Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series if you want a well-built modern blend that shows what careful blending does rather than what age alone does.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks (Knob Creek 12 Year); neat, rocks (Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series).