Review: Knob Creek Bourbon 9 Years Old – Eli Manning’s 2025 Bold Pick

As a University of Texas alumnus and Longhorn football supporter, I am now duty-bound to honor the Manning family for whatever role they had in bringing young Arch to us — and that necessarily extends to Eli Manning, who may not have quite the street cred of his big brother (who has his own line of whiskey) despite winning two Super Bowls. (Same as Peyton.)

At just 19 years old, it may be premature for Arch Manning to have a namesake whiskey, but while we wait for that inevitability, we turn to Eli, who has, in a quirky but not unwelcome move, turned to Knob Creek with this partnership, the first in a new collection called Bold Picks.

Bold Picks are, basically, going to be exactly what you think they are: limited edition releases of Knob Creek selected by some celebrity or dignitary. They are billed as single barrel picks, but there’s no information on how many barrels were selected, and no barrel number is included on my small sample. I’m not sure how much whiskey Manning could have tasted for this release, but the distillery assures us that Manning’s hand was involved in crafting the liquid — which hits the bottle at a bracing 60% abv (not cask strength).

There’s no information on whether Bold Pick releases will come annually or on any particular schedule — or even if there will be more of them. But let’s assume for now that all of those are answerable in the affirmative.

So, on to Eli’s choice!

The nose of the whiskey immediately connotes classic Knob Creek expressions, charry but sweet with a healthy punch of vanilla caramel and a cookie-like quality that evokes pecan sandies. The extra abv over 100 proof Knob Creek is evident right away, however, really spicing up the nose and imbuing it with a layer of ground pepper, red and black.

That’s all echoed on the palate, where we find an amply sweet body that provides notes of candy corn, peanut brittle, and butterscotch before some of that peppery heat returns to grip the back of the throat. Some Maraska cherry notes work their way forward given enough time for the whiskey to mellow in glass, but these can be fleeting. The extra punch of alcohol makes for a whiskey that can admittedly be a little rough around the edges at times, showing off some green herbal notes that come across more as rosemary and thyme than the mint you get with standard Knob Creek 9. It’s a little brash and frontier-like, but that may play to some folks’ preference in the end — though the finish is all peanut shells, coming across as surprisingly youthful.

It’s a whiskey that, if nothing else, takes you on quite a journey of ups and downs. Just like Manning’s career, amirite?

120 proof.

A- / $60 / knobcreek.com

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