Some things are just worth the wait. Even if it’s a really long wait – like more than 100 years. Writer Betsa Marsh explains the lengthy route Green River Distilling Company has had to take on the way to its first bottles of heritage bourbon.

Save this article about Green River Distilling to Pinterest. A venerable smokestack tells its story to every visitor on the distillery tour. And each tour wraps up at the tasting room, with a range of Green River labels. Photos by Betsa Marsh. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.

Green River Distilling Company bourbon reclaims its heritage name

Lovers of spirits instantly scan every label, searching for those golden words, “straight Kentucky bourbon whiskey.” But given the long, circuitous tale of Green River Distilling Co., there’s nothing straight about it.

Green River arises anew as a Bluegrass paradox, one of the oldest Kentucky distilleries that is somehow still waiting for its new namesake bourbon to gurgle into the bottle. You could say this new batch is 136 years in the making.

The Green River Distilling Co. has stood on the same Bluegrass campus in Owensboro, Ky., since the late 1800s.

As they wait, bourbon lovers are trekking to Owensboro to visit the still and sniff the mash at this westernmost member of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

J.W. McCulloch started Green River Distilling Company in 1885, yes, along the Green River outside Owensboro. The name was purely picturesque: Bluegrass distillers rely on mineral-rich well water from the region’s limestone aquifer. Distillers claim this limestone element is one of the flavor essentials of Bluegrass bourbon.

McCulloch soon moved to the Ohio River in Owensboro and drilled four new wells, still used today. He advertised his bourbon as “The Whiskey Without a Headache.” When truth-in-advertising laws were passed, he switched to “The Whiskey Without Regrets,” and so it remains.

Green River rolled along, winning international honors, until a disastrous fire in 1918, followed by Prohibition from 1920 to 1933. The knockout punches saw the plant start and stop over decades, until it finally sat in ruins for nearly 25 years.

By 2014, there was no line of suitors at the door to take over this aging property. But the Terressentia Corp. saw potential, bringing in Master Distiller Ron Call to restore the plant and restart production. The whiskey would be named for one of Terressentia’s founders, O.Z. Tyler.

Green River once advertised as “The Whiskey Without a Headache.” After truth-in-advertising laws were passed, the company switched to “The Whiskey Without Regrets.”

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Green River Distilling, re-born

When J. Rob McCulloch, great-grandson of the original distiller, came on board in 2020, the distillery could reclaim its heritage name: Green River.

Ron Call’s son, Jacob, joined the project, seeing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put his distinctive stamp on a new bourbon profile. The eighth-generation Kentuckian and third-generation bourbon distiller is now Green River’s master distiller and general manager.

“I don’t know of any other brand resurrected on its original home,” Call said of his first look at the Green River plant. “I thought it had good bones. That [the damage] was cosmetic. Until the roof fell in.

“Then the piping, electric and plumbing. It was a shambles.”

Master distiller Jacob Call with one of his favorite brands from Green River, Yellow Banks. The whiskey is named for the original name of Owensboro, Ky., home of Green River Distilling.

The team discovered that there wasn’t much to save beyond the 1930s clay tile walls, the four wells, and the precious original still. The still is the castle keep of any distillery, and at Green River, it was irreplaceable.

Each still in the country receives a distinct number for taxation, and Green River’s Distilled Spirit Plant is KY 10–10th oldest registered distillery in the Bluegrass. For reference, Heaven Hill Bernheim is No. 1 and Jim Beam is No. 230. No way could they jeopardize this still, so they just re-built around it.

Once patched and polished, the distillery began running round the clock, producing Tyler brands and private-label bourbons. Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw proudly sells “Bradshaw,” whose alcohol level Green River blends to 51.9%, the quarterback’s career passing percentage.

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Green River Distilling Bourbon – Worth the Wait

Producing 90,000 barrels a year, Green River is now the fourth-largest independent bourbon distillery in the U.S. But it’s the resurrected namesake bourbon that everyone’s waiting to taste.

Call and his crew perfected their first Green River batch in 2017, and put it down to age for the four years that the company has set as its standard. By the calendar, the revitalized Green River bourbon should have been on the shelves in fall 2021. But that was before Covid.

“The people who make our glass bottles couldn’t get their supplies,” Call said.  So, like manufacturers the world over, Green River is trying to piece together a supply chain and find a way to launch its new product. The inauguration of Green River whiskey is now planned for early 2022.

Bourbon lovers await Call’s new take on the venerable label. He’s upped the all-Kentucky corn proportions to 70%, drawing most of his corn from a 30-mile radius. The remaining ingredients are 21% rye and 9% malted barley for “more spice, more character,” Call said. “A little bit more going on, like Woodford Reserve or Old Forrester.

“I believe the rye delivers pepper and warming spice notes that you’ll smell and taste. You may pick up some cinnamon, cardamom, cherry and even a little bit of light leather. The finish is rich, thick and lingering.”

Deep in whiskey and Bluegrass heritage, Call views his long-awaited spirits through a historical prism. “In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Owensboro was the center of bourbon production in the U.S. It is my hope and intention for Green River bourbon to stand proudly alongside some of these legendary bourbons and the history of this distillery.”

For more information about Green River Distilling, visit their website.

–Story and photos by Betsa Marsh

Tour guide Caryn Wells points out the signature of J. Rob McCulloch, great-grandson of J.W. McCulloch, founder of Green River Distilling Co. in 1885. McCulloch joined the venture in 2020 to reclaim the “Green River” name for Kentucky’s 10th-oldest distillery. The first new batches of Green River bourbon are scheduled to debut in early 2022.