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- Rowan's Creek and Knob Creek 12 Year do not publish an official mash bill.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