Green River Wheated Bourbon

Green River Wheated Bourbon

Cost: $33 at a local liquor store (South Carolina)

Age: NAS

Proof: 90

Mash Bill: 70% corn, 21% wheat, 9% malted barley

Reviewed neat in a glencairn.

Appearance: A tawny copper color, mostly thin fast legs but does bead nicely as well producing fat droplets the slowly sink back into the glass.

Nose: This is a very sweet and inviting nose. I make this side for pork chops occasionally where I slice up peaches and grill them until they start getting a slight char, then remove them from the grill and place them in a skillet with brown sugar, honey, and a couple table spoons of water and let them cook until the sauce starts to caramelize. That! That’s what I’m smelling that dominates: grilled peaches, brown sugar, and honey. It’s a more complex nose than just that though. I’m also picking up a little oak, some baking spices like cinnamon and clove, and maybe even a hint of maraschino cherry. This would make a fantastic candle! It’s soft, nothing offensive or astringent. It’s rather intoxicating really.

Palate: This has a relatively thin mouthfeel, with flavors mostly concentrated on the mid palate. There’s a general fruitiness to the sweetness, but not well defined enough to mention a specific fruit. There’s a decent amount of vanilla that shows up, and it has a decent backbone of oak, barrel char, and a pepperiness as it starts to fade into the finish.

Finish: It’s almost like a mild “sweet and spicy” oak that lingers. I also pick up on a little toasted grain note, and there’s a slight numbing at the back of the tongue and throat that’s reminiscent of peppercorns. There’s pretty much zero hug that accompanies this sip.

Rating: 5.6/10

Overall: Well, the nose started off making me think this was going to be a total banger! But then the palate and finish just kinda fell flat. Nothing offensive, just lacking depth and complexity that the nose had. That said, this is definitely going into my rotation of “daily sippers,” which currently includes Maker’s 46, Blade & Bow, and Sazerac Rye. It’ll replace Blade & Bow, because honestly, I like this better and it’s about a $20 bill cheaper. Green River Wheated Bourbon is a very easy sipping bourbon at a solid price point for what you get. This is one where I could see the right single barrel being a complete bombshell (hopefully we see some Green River Wheated single barrels in the future…)

For those that have followed along with my reviews, you know I’m partial to wheaters. Maker’s Mark is my bread and butter as it’s what really got me into being a “bourbon guy” a little over a decade ago, so I kinda use it as my benchmark for comparing other wheated bourbons. While it somewhat feels blasphemous, I would take Green River Wheated Bourbon over the standard Maker’s Mark without a doubt. However, Maker’s 46, and certainly Maker’s 46 cask strength are quite a few steps up from Green River Wheated. For less than $40, this is a solid sipping wheated bourbon that’s more fruit forward and spiced down, and when you can find it on sale for closer to $30, this is a great value to me.

Behind the Bottle: Green River was the 10th registered distillery in Kentucky back in 1885. Operations completely shutdown about 70 years later around 1955. However, in 2016 Green River was fired back up and started putting bourbon back into distribution in 2022. In 2023, Green River expanded their lineup to include a wheated bourbon. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Green River Wheated Bourbon yet, I definitely recommend it. While I haven’t tried their other offerings yet, I’ve heard the rye is definitely worth picking up. Checking out the other Green River expressions will be on my radar for purchasing throughout 2024. I love finding solid quality whiskey at sub $40 price points. Once you get above $40, I feel like there becomes way too many options and easy to justify “A” isn’t worth it because “B” is a lot better for a couple dollars more. If Green River can stay in the $35 dollar range, or even come down a smidge to the $30 area, I think it would be a really tough competitor at that price point.

It's also worth noting that Bardstown Bourbon Company purchased Green River Distillery back in 2022. I’m not sure yet what this will mean for Green River in the long run, but for now, things seem to be going well and I think the Green River name is trending in the right direction.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect