How Good Is Eli Manning’s 2026 Knob Creek Bourbon? We Put it to a Taste Test
Eli Manning signs a bourbon barrel he selected. (Photo: Knob Creek)
As Super Bowl season ramps up, Eli Manning is back with a new bourbon collaboration alongside Knob Creek — this time in cask-strength form. Ahead of the super bowl, we had to put Manning’s 2026 Knob Creek barrel pick to a taste test — and we were impressed.
Released in January, Knob Creek Single Barrel Cask Strength Bourbon, Eli Manning’s Bold Pick marks a noticeable shift from last year’s edition. Unlike the 2025 release, which was bottled below full barrel strength, the 2026 pick arrives uncut, aligning with Knob Creek’s recent expansion of its single-barrel program to include cask-strength selections.
Proofs vary by barrel, ranging from 112.2 to 121.6 (ours clocked in at 116.4). The sample we tasted was barreled on Sept. 23, 2015, and bottled on Oct. 7, 2025, making it just over 10 years old. That age makes the suggested retail price of $69.99 per 750-milliliter bottle quite a fair one, in our opinion, without even considering the celebrity factor.
That maturity is evident in the glass; it’s not an oak bomb, but a familiar, dialed-in version of Knob Creek’s classic Beam DNA.
On the nose, this bourbon leads with Beam’s signature nutty profile, joined by dessert-leaning notes like peanut brittle, caramel, vanilla frosting and cherry cola. There’s spice underneath the oak and sweetness — nutmeg and sassafras, mostly — adding welcome balance.
The palate continues that theme. Peanut brittle returns, layered with fudge, espresso and caramel, alongside ash, Luxardo cherry and a light touch of mint. It has a velvety palate, with enough richness to carry the proof without blasting your mouth with heat for heat’s sake.
The finish goes in a slightly different direction. A huge, beautiful dark chocolate-covered almond note opens, followed by marshmallow fluff, coffee grounds and ash, before shifting into more of a re fruit-centric profile, with red grape, raisin and cherry.
All in all, we found Manning’s 2026 Bold Pick to be an excellent bourbon, and a marked improvement over last year’s selection. Our review reflects this. We scored the 2025 edition an 88, but 2026’s is up to a very high 92. Click here to check out the review in full.
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