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Knob Creek 12 Year vs Rowan's Creek
Knob Creek 12 Year and Rowan's Creek sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, rye-forward classic versus an old-guard, classically built classic.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Knob Creek 12 Year | Rowan's Creek |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | High-Rye Bourbon | Traditional Bourbon |
| Mash Bill 1 | 75% corn, 13% rye, 12% malted barley | Not disclosed |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Proof | 100 proof (50% ABV) | 100.1 proof (50.0% ABV) |
| Approx. Price 2 | ~$55 – $70 | ~$40 – $50 ~$18 less |
- Knob Creek 12 Year and Rowan's Creek do not publish an official mash bill.
- US shelf prices as of 2026-08; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Knob Creek 12 Year
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Rowan's Creek
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Knob Creek 12 Year Rowan's Creek
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
oak 9/4 oak: Knob Creek 12 Year 9 out of 10, Rowan's Creek 4 out of 10
nuttiness 7/2 nuttiness: Knob Creek 12 Year 7 out of 10, Rowan's Creek 2 out of 10
spice 6/7 spice: Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10, Rowan's Creek 7 out of 10
fruit 3/4 fruit: Knob Creek 12 Year 3 out of 10, Rowan's Creek 4 out of 10
sweetness 6/6 sweetness: Knob Creek 12 Year 6 out of 10, Rowan's Creek 6 out of 10
heat 5/5 heat: Knob Creek 12 Year 5 out of 10, Rowan's Creek 5 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Oak is doing most of the differentiating here.
- Knob Creek 12 Year: Three more years in the barrel than the standard Knob Creek, and the wood does all the talking. Deep oak and leather over the familiar Beam peanut note, drying toward genuinely tannic on the finish.
- Rowan's Creek: A small-batch Willett bottling that tastes rye-forward and herbal. Honey and caramel sit under mint, hay and warm spice, with a peppermint lift on the finish.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Knob Creek 12 Year if you want the Beam house profile pushed as far into oak as it goes while staying balanced.
- Go with Rowan's Creek if you want an herbal, minty, rye-forward Willett bottling at a lower price point.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks (Knob Creek 12 Year); neat, old-fashioned, cocktails (Rowan's Creek).