Green River Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Well, for once, I have very little information to give you.
Sure, I can tell you the basics - this is the first bourbon put out by Green River Distillery (formerly O. Z. Tyler for just a few years) and by Jacob and Ron Call, the former being their Master Distiller. The bourbon was received positively from all corners, a true turning-the-page from the TerraPURE hyper-aging experiment.
The awkward thing is this: between when I bought this, reviewed this, and finally wrote this up, Green River was bought, Jacob Call left in a huff, and there’s been zero information since.
The good thing I can say is that the bourbon as it stands is delicious. At 90 proof, yes, I want it to have more heft, but evaluated for what it is it readily exceeds expectations. Whoever made the decision to go with the Calls’ product - distilled and matured the traditional way - should be given a medal. Few distilleries could put out a product as widely reviled as the TerraPURE whiskies then turn around their reputation with a single release, but Green River did it.
This also isn’t the first time we’ve covered Green River - Wheel Horse Bourbon and Rye are made there, and the latter was the first rye produced at Green River Distillery in its entire history.
That writeup of Wheel Horse has the Distillery’s recent history up until this release.
After that, in June, Bardstown Bourbon Co. and Pritzker Capital announced they would be buying Green River Distillery. At the time, Bardstown Bourbon Co. CEO Mark Erwin expressed his enthusiastic anticipation for working with Jacob Call, and Pritzker was to take its expected background role as hands-off funder. Maybe something happened behind the scenes that we don’t know, but from the outside it sure looked like Jacob Call was unhappy with the move and left effective the end of July.
We won’t know more until after his non-compete expires Oct. 31, but there’s definitely more to the story. I’m in as much suspense as you are, and I’ll let you know!
Green River Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Specs
Classification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Origin: Green River Distiillery
Mashbill: 70% Corn, 21% Rye, 9% Malted Barley
Proof: 90 (45% ABV)
Age: NAS
Location: Owensboro, Kentucky
Green River Straight Bourbon Whiskey Price: $37.99
Green River Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Dark brewed tea. Thin rims, large, quick drops.
Nose: Great bourbon nose, smells closer to 100 proof than 90. Some oak dryness comes through. Spicy tobacco, less sweet and more rye-forward than I expected. The tobacco is smoked, too, in a barrel char kind of way.
Palate: Peppery and oaky at first, slowly rounding out to a corn-led, oily sweetness. The tobacco notes are still prominent as the oak dries. Mouthfeel is oily, the white pepper bite never fading. Front-palate and back-palate each have a flavor party separate from each other. Dark, smoky leaves in the sides and corners of my mouth.
Finish: Barrel char becomes clearer and separates from the tobacco, the pepper finally settling down a bit. Coating and drying, pie crust or shortbread. Drying, less-sweet pastries.
Overall: A fortunate first entry post-TerraPURE. I don’t mind the lower proof as it drinks above that and above its age. Nerds candies start to emerge very late. Drier and less sweet than expected. It’s difficult to overcome a well-known reputation, but this bourbon might just do it in one shot.
Final Rating: 7.1
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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