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Knob Creek 12 Year vs Maker’s Mark 46
Knob Creek 12 Year and Maker’s Mark 46 sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, rye-forward classic versus an old-guard, wheat-forward classic.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Knob Creek 12 Year | Maker’s Mark 46 |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon | Wheated Bourbon |
| Mash Bill 1 | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley | 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Proof | 100 proof (50% ABV) +6 proof | 94 proof (47% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$55 – $70 | ~$38 – $45 ~$21 less |
- 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
Knob Creek 12 Year
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Maker’s Mark 46
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Knob Creek 12 Year Maker’s Mark 46
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
nuttiness 7/3 nuttiness: Knob Creek 12 Year 7 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 3 out of 10
sweetness 6/8 sweetness: Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 8 out of 10
spice 6/4 spice: Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 4 out of 10
oak 9/7 oak: Knob Creek 12 Year 9 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 7 out of 10
fruit 3/4 fruit: Knob Creek 12 Year 3 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 4 out of 10
heat 5/4 heat: Knob Creek 12 Year 5 out of 10, Maker’s Mark 46 4 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Nutty, grain-driven character is the divider.
- 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.
- Maker’s Mark 46: Finished with seared French oak staves inside the barrel, which adds the spice and wood that the standard bottling deliberately lacks. The most useful upgrade in the Maker's range.
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 with slightly more proof behind it.
- Go with Maker’s Mark 46 if you want the softness of Maker's Mark with real oak and spice layered over it at a lower price point.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks (Knob Creek 12 Year); neat, rocks, old-fashioned (Maker’s Mark 46).