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Knob Creek 9 Year vs Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series
Knob Creek 9 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 9 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 | 9 years | No age statement |
| Proof | 100 proof (50% ABV) | 98.9 proof (49.5% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$35 – $40 ~$25 less | ~$55 – $70 |
- Knob Creek 9 Year and Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series do not publish an official mash bill.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 9 Year
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Knob Creek 9 Year Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
nuttiness 7/3 nuttiness: Knob Creek 9 Year 7 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 3 out of 10
fruit 3/6 fruit: Knob Creek 9 Year 3 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 6 out of 10
sweetness 5/7 sweetness: Knob Creek 9 Year 5 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 7 out of 10
oak 8/6 oak: Knob Creek 9 Year 8 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 6 out of 10
spice 6/5 spice: Knob Creek 9 Year 6 out of 10, Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series 5 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: Knob Creek 9 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 9 Year: This classic Jim Beam offering leans heavily into traditional oak, rich caramel, vanilla, and the signature Beam peanut-funk nuttiness. At 100 proof it delivers a bolder, more structural wood-and-spice influence with a touch of citrus zest and mint 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 9 Year if you want a classic peanut-and-oak-forward Kentucky bourbon with an older age statement at a lower price point.
- 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, old-fashioned (Knob Creek 9 Year); neat, rocks (Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series).