Tasting notes

nose

Brown sugar, vanilla frosting and deep caramel, with baking spice, mint, green apple, peach and peanut brittle

palate

Honey, caramel and soft oak, with pear, sunflower seed and baking spice

finish

Medium; roasted peanut, cinnamon candy, brown sugar and a trace of rye spice

Mash bill

70% Kentucky-grown corn, 21% rye, 9% malted barley. Each bottle comes from one barrel of Green River's high-rye recipe, so the rye spice, mint and brown sugar vary with the barrel chosen.

Why it's craft

Every bottle is a single barrel picked from Green River's historic Owensboro warehouses and bottled at cask strength with no blending, so the strength changes from barrel to barrel. The label reads Private Selection, which lets a buyer choose a barrel of their own. The distillery was licensed in 1885, and Bardstown Bourbon Co. has owned it since 2022.