Review #864 - Green River Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Green River is one of the oldest distilleries in Kentucky - it holds the 10th distilling license in the state - but it was silent for quite some time. This distillery was originally established in 1885, but after a fire in 1918 and prohibition in the 1920s, production and distribution waned and finally ceased. The distillery changed hands a number of times over the next 80+ years, and it was finally reopened as the O.Z. Tyler distillery in 2016.
The name Green River was used again in 2020, and the brand launched their core range in 2022, including this Kentucky Straight Bourbon. This is a non-age-stated bourbon with a bottling strength of 45% ABV (90 proof); they use a mashbill of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% barley. That higher rye grain percentage is supposed to give this bourbon a nice spicy kick.
Green River Kentucky Straight Bourbon
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 34 (2026)
Age Statement: NAS
Strength: 45% ABV
Details: Not chill filtered
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 2 times over 10 months; bottles at 90% and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Nutty, with some brown sugar and a vague candied note. Almonds and pecans mix with some prickly, dry oak; there's soft minty spice in the background, and the tiniest hint of dark fruit.
Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thin. This leans sweet at first with caramel, vanilla, and icing sugar, but the nutty side returns. Wood tannins and anise add more spice, along with some black pepper.
Finish: Cardamom, brown sugar, blanched almond, buttercream icing - this is full of baking notes, but also some starchy oak. It grows more mellow, and we get a bit of leather in the aftertaste; it's a medium-short finish.
Final Note: This bourbon is fine, but a little bit mellow and bland at this age and strength. It's a budget bottle with a price around $30 or so, so we weren't expecting an overly complex bottle, but we just find some typical low-proof bourbon notes of oak and a bit of nuttiness for the most part. There is some spice, especially wood spice, but we didn't find this to be particularly spicy for a high-rye bourbon.
Value is pretty good, though, due to that relatively low price. If you're exploring the sub-$40 price point in the bourbon world, this is a nice alternative to some similar bottles from the big heritage distilleries.
Our Rating: 5.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.79
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Green River reviews:
Review #698 - Green River Single Barrel Bourbon 'Summer Salute'
