Review #492 - Knob Creek 11 Year Single Barrel Select - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Lucky Luciano'

Another single barrel selection from Jim Beam's Knob Creek brand and their partnership with the Wiseguy Lounge speakeasy bar - this barrel is named 'Lucky Luciano' after the famous mobster, and in line with the bar chain's theme. Luciano, originally named Salvatore Lucania and alive from 1897 to 1962, was the first boss of the Genovese crime family (originally called the Luciano crime family) and one of the most influential members of the National Crime Syndicate.

This single barrel selection comes in at 11 years old - a nice age statement on a modern version of Knob Creek's single barrel select bourbons, which are generally 9 or occasionally 10 years old for the most part. The bottling strength is the standard 60% ABV (120 proof) that we usually see with these single barrels.

Knob Creek 11 Year Single Barrel Select - Wiseguy Lounge Pick 'Lucky Luciano'

USA - Bourbon

Price Paid: USD 65 (2023)

Current Locally Available Price: USD 65 (2025, equivalent bottling)

Age Statement: 11 Years

Strength: 60% ABV

Details: Wiseguy Lounge pick #10 'Lucky Luciano,' barreled January 17, 2012, bottled March 19; warehouse 1, 4th floor, rick 051

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 5 times over 11 months; bottles 80%, 100%, 90% (blind tasting), 80% (blind tasting), and 70% (blind tasting) fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes

Nose: Strong, dusty oak - old leather, deep, quite mature. A soft perfume note develops with time in that oak; there's also plenty of salted peanut, butterscotch, pecans, and brown sugar. A bit of chocolate, too - like a buckeye confection with the nut notes, and at the end, a soft tobacco scent.

Palate: A thick mouthfeel - very oaky, very leathery, some nice tobacco and tannic spice, too. There is a bit of sweetness mid-palate: caramel, butterscotch, some dark chocolate, molasses. We also get a spicy side like cinnamon red hot candies; that Beam nutty flavor arrives in the form of candied pecans. It's quite warm from the strength, too.

Finish: This gets a little sweeter in the finish - soft cherries and vanilla, more brown sugar, more cinnamon and molasses. There's still plenty of oak, which adds tannins and wood smoke; in the aftertaste, it tastes like a savory spiced nut mixture. The finish is medium-long.

Final Note: This is a very nice Knob Creek single barrel selection - very mature and oaky, but that oak is nicely integrated, adding the leather, tobacco, and perfume notes. A good mix of sweet flavors and spice notes, too - different tasting sessions leaned one way or the other, but overall, good balance. This is a great alternative to a bottle like Knob Creek 12 Year, and this has the added bonus of a higher proof point.

Value is very good, too. These Knob Creek single barrel selections are often good value with their solid age statements, higher proof points, and consistent flavors; the fact that this one is a couple years older than average only makes it a better deal.

Our Average Rating: 7.6 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 7.56

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.