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Green River’s Full Proof Single Barrel program debuted around 2023 and has steadily grown in the years that followed. Unlike the company’s standard 117 proof “Full Proof” batched bourbon, these barrels are bottled at a true cask strength.
The pick I’m reviewing today is not exactly recent – it came from a bottle shop in Nashville, TN called Brinkmann’s Wine & Spirits. You may remember them from another pick I reviewed from them that was one of the highest-proofed single barrels of MGP I’ve ever seen. The owners eventually sold the store in late 2024 and now it’s operating under a different name.
What’s in the bottle before you today is Green River’s standard (albeit high-rye) bourbon recipe consisting of 70% corn, 21% rye, 9% malted barley. And while I don’t know the exact age statement, it’s probably around the 5–6 year old mark. The label on the back of the bottle harkens back to the era of Prohibition whiskey whereby the only way you could legally buy bourbon was with a medical prescription. Hence the reason why they put “Doc” in front of “Brinkmann’s.”
A word about Green River’s Bourbon
In 2022, Green River came under control of Lofted Spirits – the same company that owns Bardstown Bourbon Company. Since that time, the umbrella corporation has reduced the number of distilling contracts that Green River once had. This decision was probably not popular with the NDPs that had their barrels contract distilled by them, but it did allow Green River to more quickly fill up their own warehouses which allowed them to expand the scale of their offerings.
A quick word about the warehouses that Green River uses: they aren’t all created equal. The original distillery uses “tile-walled” (don’t call them brick) rickhouses with a few floors. They also have an off-site campus located in Hartford, Kentucky that uses single-story metal warehouses for maturation. These two differences in construction usually result in the Owensboro campus having a more mellow, rye-forward style of bourbon due to its gradual shift in temperatures while the Hartford location can give more intense, spicy flavors due to its wilder shift in temperatures.
I mention this because Brinkmann’s selected a barrel that is north of 124 proof (original barrel entry was likely 120 proof) which means that it gained proof over the years. This leads me to believe it might have been aged at the Hartford site. I don’t have definitive proof of that though.
Price is a huge part in why Green River has been doing so well recently. These single-barrel, Cask Strength picks routinely sit under $60, which undercuts a lot of the competition in terms of age and proof. When that’s factored in, the barrel only needs to be “very good” to feel like a win while the special ones punch well above their weight.
So what does this barrel hold? Let’s find out. A special thanks to my friend Mike for sharing this with me. As usual, I sampled it neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Notes of caramel, vanilla bean and the breakfast cereal “Honey Grahams” shows up early and often whenever I take a sniff. I don’t typically find much by way of fruit in Green River’s distillate, but I do find a bit of orange oil a hint of cherry. The rye spice lends itself to some spearmint/fennel scents. The oak is noticeable, but not quite fully developed yet. It’s on its way, though! I also get occasional flashes of green tree saplings that reminds me of its age. There’s even a bit of cinnamon and clove in here as well.
Palate: The mouthfeel is fairly rich for a bourbon that leans a bit younger. That compliments the flavors I find a bit better than the Full Proof version does. Brûlée’d sugar, toffee and some high-rye notes lead the charge. More of that citrus note that I found on the nose comes in swinging with cinnamon and clove behind it. A tiny bit of cocoa powder and some marshmallow fluff also hide within. I don’t find as much oak as the nose was hinting at, but there’s enough here to make me realize it does give some balance to the sweetness. If there was tobacco or leather, I’d be over the moon with this pick.
Finish: Long and warm with notes of caramel and vanilla supported by baking spices and some mint tea. Some of the orange remains along with a dusting of cinnamon and ground pepper. It’s got good balance and the proof never overwhelms.
Score: 7.7/10
I found this Green River pick moved the needle a little bit higher when compared to their standard Full Proof release. I predict it will move it even more as the barrels are allowed to extend their maturation time and approach the 10-year mark. But these early barrels are great in the fact that they still offered a great array of flavors and sweetness without being overly youthful. And if you’re a fan of other high-rye bourbons like MGP, Barton or Four Roses like I am, this should be in your wheelhouse.
Final Thoughts
Green River’s foray into the single barrel game has only gotten stronger since this pick was done. These are consistently some of the best releases in terms of value and quality. So even though your chances of finding this exact bottle are slim to none, it’s hard not to recommend any level of enthusiast to buy any of their single barrels if you see one. I already find them much more interesting than Elijah Craig Barrel Picks (which I’ve noticed are almost all 8-years-old these days), Knob Creek Single Barrel picks or 1792 Full Proof picks. This is one of the easier choices for those who are looking for an alternative to the same kinds of single barrels that have been on the market for a while now.