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Knob Creek 9 Year vs Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Knob Creek 9 Year and Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, rye-forward classic versus a new-wave, wheat-forward craft style.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Knob Creek 9 Year | Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon | Wheated Bourbon |
| Mash Bill 1 | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley | 64% corn, 24% wheat, 12% malted barley |
| Age | 9 years +3 yr | 6 years |
| Proof | 100 proof (50% ABV) | 100 proof (50% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$35 – $40 ~$15 less | ~$45 – $60 |
- Knob Creek 9 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 9 Year
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Knob Creek 9 Year Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
spice 6/3 spice: Knob Creek 9 Year 6 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 3 out of 10
oak 8/5 oak: Knob Creek 9 Year 8 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
fruit 3/6 fruit: Knob Creek 9 Year 3 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 6 out of 10
nuttiness 7/4 nuttiness: Knob Creek 9 Year 7 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 4 out of 10
sweetness 5/7 sweetness: Knob Creek 9 Year 5 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 7 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: Knob Creek 9 Year 5 out of 10, Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond 5 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
The gap between these two is mostly about spice.
- 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.
- Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond: A sweet-mash, bonded wheated bourbon from a distillery founded by two fermentation scientists, and the technical care shows in how clean it tastes. One of the strongest craft arguments on the shelf.
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 Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond if you want a bonded, sweet-mash wheater from a modern distillery doing genuinely careful work with the texture that comes from skipping chill filtration.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks, old-fashioned (Knob Creek 9 Year); neat, rocks (Wilderness Trail Bottled-in-Bond).