Rowan’s Creek has been one of Willett Distillery’s best-selling bourbons for over a decade and continues to gain popularity.
Rowan’s Creek (the bourbon) is named after Rowan’s Creek (the actual creek) which is named after John Rowan (the person). In the 1800s, John Rowan was a pretty big deal around Kentucky. He was a politician who served in both the Kentucky and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as the Kentucky Secretary of State for a few years. That political career is what allowed him to build his estate, Federal Hill, which is allegedly the home mentioned in Stephen Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home.” (He was also *almost* convicted for murder, but moving on). Yup, John Rowan was a big enough deal in Kentucky that they named a whole creek after him and that creek just happens to supply the water for Willett Distillery.
Now in past tastings, we haven’t exactly been fans of the products supplied by that creek, but we weren’t about to hold that against Rowan’s Creek. Sadly though, the family resemblance is pretty clear. Rowan’s Creek shares the same gritty, earthy, moss-like taste as Willett Pot Still Reserve just in a slightly more palatable way. There are a few notes of oak and vanilla scattered throughout, but Willett Pot Still is still the resounding flavor.
Rowan’s Creek is a small batch bourbon, which means it’s the combination of several bourbon batches mixed together. Of course a distillery never mixes and tells, so it’s hard to say exactly which bourbons are being mixed into this small batch. If we had to bet though, Willett Pot Still is a key ingredient and that’s, well, a bit of a shame.
When Rowan’s Creek was first introduced, rumor has it that the mixed formula was much different and much older. These days, with a rising bourbon demand, it would certainly make sense for the distillery to swap out old bourbons for a NAS product like Willett. Even Rowan’s Creek itself has NAS but confusingly holds the distinction that it’s comprised of barrels between 5 to 15 years. (Read as: Mainly 5-year-old bourbons with a splash of 15-year-old). That huge range in age also hints that Willett Pot Still or other young bourbons have taken center stage in the final product.
We certainly understand why the distillery might choose to switch up the Rowan’s Creek formula with something younger, but man, we really wish it didn’t have to be Willett Pot Still.
STATS: Rowan’s Creek Bourbon
- Price for us: $44 for 750 mL
- Proof: 100.1
- Aged: NAS, but produced from barrels between 5-15 years
- Distillery: Willett Distillery
- Recommendation: Mixer
