Tasting notes

nose

Caramel, toasted oak, cinnamon, orange zest, cooked apple, golden raisin and tropical fruit

palate

Wheat bread, honey and caramel, then dried apricot, orange peel, lemon drop, white pepper, pie crust, brown sugar and vanilla cream

finish

Long and warm; baking spice, cinnamon and caramel, with a faint smokiness

Mash bill

70% Kentucky-grown corn, 21% wheat, 9% malted barley. Each bottle is one barrel of Green River's wheated recipe, so the wheat bread, apricot and orange notes shift a little from barrel to barrel.

Why it's craft

Green River picks single barrels of its wheated bourbon, at least five years old, and bottles them at cask strength with no blending. The line arrived in February 2025 as a permanent addition, and the barrels lean toward apricot, orange and bread rather than rye spice. The distillery was licensed in 1885, and Bardstown Bourbon Co. has owned it since 2022.