Best Cigars to Pair With Knob Creek
Knob Creek is a classic, easy-to-find bourbon known for its high-octane kick. Bartenders across the country reach for Knob Creek when they’re mixing up a number of classic cocktails, like a Manhattan or an Old-Fashioned. Booker Noe, the sixth generation master distiller at Jim Beam, created Knob Creek in 1992 to mirror the taste of bourbon distilled before Prohibition. Knob Creek is part of Jim Bean’s Small Batch Collection, which includes Baker’s, Basil Hayden’s, and Booker’s. Here are five great cigars to fire up with Knob Creek when you need a nip to warm you up in cold weather.
1. Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon & Ashton VSG
The original Knob Creek 9 Year Bourbon is the brand’s flagship expression. It’s robust, 100-proof profile delivers notes of oak, caramel, and vanilla with sweet and woody character. White oak barrels are fully charred to impart a full flavor with hints of fruit. An oily Ecuador Sumatra wrapper harbors the finest aged Dominican long-fillers in Ashton VSG. Its full-bodied profile of cedar, leather, espresso, and spice is considered the benchmark for full-flavored Dominican taste. Because VSG is ultra-refined, every sip of Knob Creek is elevated with smoky finesse and luscious, lingering finish.
2. Knob Creek 12 Year Bourbon & Arturo Fuente Don Carlos
Aged a little longer, Knob Creek 12 Year Bourbon boasts a toasty nose of caramel and vanilla before notes of pepper, tobacco, and leather perk the palate up with a pleasant touch of wood. Taste the bridge between high-proof intensity and sophistication for a great value. Arturo Fuente Don Carlos is drawn from a well-aged Cameroon wrapper leaf and rich interior of premium Dominica long-fillers in a collection of perfectly balanced sizes. Notes of cedar, baking spices, nuts, and fresh coffee arrive in a sequence of silky puff. A pair of icons impresses easily when Knob Creek 12 Year and Don Carlos are in your cigar and whiskey rotation.
3. Knob Creek Reserve Single Barrel & La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial
Knob Creek Reserve Single Barrel resonates with the deepest amber hue in the collection. An aroma of vanilla and smoke loads the nose before notes of chestnuts, almonds, and oak reveal the unblended focus present in Single Barrel. A glistening Cuban-seed wrapper conceals an intricate amalgam of premium Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos blended by legendary cigar-maker Pepin Garcia in La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial. Zesty notes of smoked almond, cocoa, leather, spice, and espresso characterize a medium to full-bodied, 94-rated profile in a series of traditional shapes you can anticipate mixing perfectly with the uniform taste of Single Barrel.
4. Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Smoked Maple & Padron 1964 Maduro
An aroma of hickory, maple, and fresh grain foreshadows luscious notes of honey, smoke, vanilla, and caramel in Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Smoked Maple. A sweeter-than-usual profile resonates in a 90-proof finish that pairs naturally with a fine cigar. Padron 1964 Anniversary Maduro delivers a touch of extra sweetness in an iconic profile of dark cocoa, cayenne, cedar, and leather handcrafted in a wide range of box-pressed classics. Padron 1964 and Knob Creek Smoked Maple mingle in a perfect after-dinner combo when you want to skip dessert and get straight to the cigars and whiskey.
5. Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Rye & Oliva Serie V
Cracked grain, fruit, and charred oak characterize the nose in Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Rye. Spicy notes of white pepper, citrus, pine, and vanilla create a complex tapestry full of Knob Creek’s signature sweetness the second it hits the palate. Full-bodied and feisty notes of red pepper, cayenne, hickory, leather, and earth emerge in the 95-rated Oliva Serie V. An oily Ecuador Habano wrapper harbors a robust interior of Nicaraguan Ligero long-fillers in several popular shapes. Oliva and Knob Creek make sense together thanks to their intense backbones.
