Full Capacity – Rowan’s Creek Bourbon

Even though summer is on its way out, I decided to create a summery drink with the Rowan’s Creek Bourbon. The recipe sits somewhere between a Mint Julep and a Swizzle. Again untypically for me, I decided to keep things simple.

The Rowan’s Creek now comes from the Willett Distillery, compared to sourced whiskey in earlier years. Apart from that, it is at least four-years-old bourbon, but the age statement was dropped a long time ago. Willet makes two different high-corn mash-bills with 72 % corn, 17 % rye, 15 % barley and 79 % corn, 7 % rye, 15% barley respectively. The Rowan’s Creek probably uses one of those two recipes. After ageing and blending the whiskey is bottled at an ABV of 50,5 %.

Unusual grassy, but also typical

I cannot remember if I ever had Rowan’s Creek, I remember tasting Noah’s Mill as well as the Johnny Drum bottling in the bar I worked. Yet, the whiskey starts with grassy notes, unmalted grains, some glue as well as a noticeable menthol note. In the taste, the cut grass flavours are toned down a bit and I instead found candied violets, caramel, vanilla and also pronounced menthol. This might not be my favourite sipping bourbon, but I bet it makes excellent cocktails.

Late summer vibes

First, I had the idea to combine the bourbon with some peaches. Yet, the mint on the terrace is also going strong. So, I settled for some peach bitters and added mint to the recipe. Instead of shaking, I went for the Mint Julep / Swizzle preparation. Last but not least, I added a bit of aperitivo liqueur to add some depth and the slightest hint of bitterness.

The “Full Capacity” starts with clear Mint Julep notes. Yet, the peach bitters as well as the aperitivo kind of blend in perfectly. This way, the Swizzle is very refreshing, but at the same time quite complex. Yet, the flavours also work with colder temperatures.