Knob Creek - World's Most Awarded Bourbon

KNOB CREEK® BOURBON CONTINUES MEDAL WINNING STREAK AT THE 2015 INTERNATIONAL WINE AND SPIRITS COMPETITION

Knob Creek® Portfolio Consolidates Position as World’s Most Awarded Bourbon with Prestigious Honors from Major Spirits Competitions

Deerfield, IL (August 20, 2015) – Knob Creek® Bourbon, the #1 selling Super-Premium bourbon¹, known for its big, full flavor, is proud to continue its long and decorated winning streak as the “World’s Most Awarded Bourbon,” claiming 49 awards at 2015’s top spirits competitions, including top honors at the recent 2015 International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC).

Each expression of the super-premium Knob Creek® Portfolio, consisting of Knob Creek® Bourbon, Knob Creek® Rye Whiskey, Knob Creek® Smoked Maple Bourbon and Knob Creek® Single Barrel Reserve, earned high accolades at the IWSC, including the notable honors below:

Knob Creek® Single Barrel Reserve – Gold Outstanding

o Tasting Notes: Spice filled nose along with peaches and honey with an underlay of fine oak. Big delivery into the mouth where a massive range of flavors burst across the palate. Orange skin, orange marmalade, vanilla, toffee and coffee. Great balance and fine texture. Elegant and poised. Long, slow, fruit and spice filled finish.

Knob Creek® Rye Whiskey – Gold

o Tasting Notes: Nose leads with summer flowers followed by mint, lemon and lavender. Smooth entry into the mouth with immediate surge of tender fruit and hint of oak. Settles across the palate and softens into some caramel characters and some vanilla. Long flinty finish.

These IWSC wins are the latest in a long list of prestigious awards Knob Creek® Bourbon has earned in 2015, including the title of “Best Bourbon” and a Double Gold Medal at the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a Gold Medal at the 2015 International Spirits Challenge.

Knob Creek® Rye Whiskey was awarded “Rye of the Year” and also won a Gold Medal at the 2015 Berlin International Spirits Competition. Knob Creek® Single Barrel Reserve received a Gold Medal at the 2015 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and was awarded a Consumer’s Choice Award and a Gold Medal in the Single Barrel American Whiskey 10 Years and Younger category at this year’s SIP Awards. Finally, Knob Creek® Smoked Maple Whiskey was awarded “Best Flavored Bourbon” and a Gold Medal at the 2015 Fifty Best Awards, as well as a Consumer’s Choice Award and a Gold Medal in the Flavored/Infused Whiskey category at this year’s SIP Awards.

“When Booker Noe created Knob Creek® Bourbon, he focused on his passion for creating a big, full flavored bourbon with the strength, care and patience that defined pre-prohibition whiskey – the way he thought real bourbon ought to be made,” said Halley Kehoe, Director of Small Batch Bourbons at Beam Suntory. “We are proud that Knob Creek has been setting the standard for more than 20 years and excited that our fans and fellow industry leaders feel the same way about the quality of our products, as evidenced by these awards.”

About Knob Creek® Bourbon

Knob Creek® Bourbon has been creating extraordinary full flavored bourbon with intriguing taste and bottled in unique flask shaped packaging for over 20 years, which has helped make it the #1 selling Super-Premium bourbon² in the world, according to Nielson Case Volume. Aged for a full 9 years in new, charred American Oak barrels and bottled at an honest 100 proof, Knob Creek® Bourbon upholds the standard for what great bourbon ought to be with its big, full signature flavor. Launched in early 1992, at a time when the terms “craft” and “super-premium” bourbon didn’t exist, Knob Creek® Bourbon is named after the small town in Kentucky where President Abraham Lincoln was born. In recent years, Knob Creek has expanded its portfolio releasing Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve (120 proof / 60% alcohol by volume) in 2011 and Knob Creek Rye (100 proof / 50% alcohol by volume) in 2012 and Knob Creek Smoked Maple (90 proof / 45% alcohol by volume) in 2013. For more information on Knob Creek, visit www.knobcreek.com.

About Beam Suntory Inc.

As the world’s third largest premium spirits company, Beam Suntory is Crafting the Spirits Brands that Stir the World. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company’s brands, including the iconic Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark bourbon brands and Suntory whisky Kakubin, as well as world renowned premium brands including Knob Creek bourbon, Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki Japanese whiskies, Teacher’s, Laphroaig, and Bowmore Scotch whiskies, Canadian Club whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Sauza tequila, Pinnacle vodka, and Midori liqueur.

Beam Suntory was created in 2014 by combining the world leader in bourbon and the pioneer in Japanese whisky to form a new company with a deep heritage, passion for quality, innovative spirit and commitment to Growing for Good. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Beam Suntory is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Limited of Japan. For more information on Beam Suntory, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamsuntory.com and www.drinksmart.com.

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¹ Source: Nielsen Case Volume, 52 week data ending 7.18.15

² Source: Nielsen Case Volume, 52 week data ending 7.18.15