Review: Green River Wheated Bourbon

Following its bourbon debut last fall, Kentucky’s Green River Distillery (formerly O.Z. Tyler) is expanding their portfolio this spring with two new expressions. While a full-proof single barrel bourbon is on the way, Green River fans can snag this new bottle now: Green River Wheated Bourbon. The mashbill is similar to Green River’s inaugural offering just with wheat replacing rye as the flavoring grain (at 21% of the mashbill). There’s no age statement on the label, but we can safely call this one at least four years old.

Dan Callaway, VP of New Product Development for the distillery, had this to say about the latest addition to the Green River lineup: “In contrast with Green River Bourbon, which brings a hearty backbone of rye spice, the wheated expression lends itself to easy drinking while holding its own distinct character. It’s a wonderful take on a classic Kentucky recipe and the perfect addition to the iconic Green River brand.”

Chris enjoyed the standard bourbon when he tasted it last fall and considered it a good value. How does its wheated brother stack up?

Wheated bourbons can sometimes be a bit one dimensional, especially on the nose, but this is impressively expressive from the get-go. The aroma is bright and gently sweet with loads of orchard fruit: golden apples, fresh peaches, and dried apricots. And it builds as it opens with undertones of buttery caramel and soft baking spice. The palate is a little more straightforward but impressively approachable, showcasing rounded notes of butterscotch, peanut brittle, and well-balanced oak ahead of a warming finish of vanilla frosting and orange rock candy.

While it’s a well-executed young wheater, I think I like it just a bit more than the rye-based bourbon. And even with the $5 markup, it’s a similarly solid value.

90 proof.

A- / $35 / greenriverdistilling.com

The post Review: Green River Wheated Bourbon appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider’s Guide to Good Drinking.