Three B’s - Bourbon

GREEN RIVER WHISKEY COMES HOME

written by Jodi Keen

The last six years have been nothing short of a whirlwind at 10 Distillery Road.

Since its purchase by Terressentia Corporation in 2014, the site in western Owensboro has hosted nearly nonstop activity and some of the most exciting developments in Greater Owensboro in the 21st century.

It is hallowed land, to be sure, as it’s the original home of the early-20th century makers of famed Green River Whiskey — billed in the early 1900s as “the whiskey without a headache.” A fire in 1918 devastated the campus, and it never truly recovered its prestige.

Until now.

After operating for six years under the name O.Z. Tyler Distillery and building its brand of curiously innovative yet traditional spirits, Terressentia acquired the rights to the Green River brand, and the company was brought back home to 10 Distillery Road. (Although its tagline was updated to “the whiskey without regrets.”)

There was no feeling more euphoric than when Terressentia CEO Simon Burch and Green River director of operations Jacob Call (himself a thirdgeneration master distiller and a driving force behind the distillery’s success) unveiled the Green River Distilling sign in September 2020. Burch himself called the unveiling “a moment of happiness and celebration in a challenging year.”

The distillery has garnered increasing accolades from bourbon fans and critics alike, not least of which was its addition in 2018 to the prestigious Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Last September, Bourbon Review magazine included the distillery in a flattering feature on Owensboro. Reviewers were impressed by the facility’s sizable campus as well as its adherence to respecting the craft of bourbon while experimenting with new innovation.

The Green River Distilling team takes care to balance its cutting-edge processes with deep respect for the crafting of bourbon. During renovations, the team salvaged existing structures and rescued as many original materials as it could. It includes local corn in its mash. And, true to the tradition of Kentucky bourbon, its spirits age in charred oak barrels for at least one year and one day.

Green River Distillery produces 90,000 barrels of bourbon and rye a year and in early November 2020 released Yellow Banks Bourbon, a collaboration between the distillery and the Kentucky Corn Growers Association. The distillery is also eying the release of a four-year aged Green River Bourbon in 2021, a sign of big things to come in the company’s first year under its original mantle. As the distillery marches further into the 21st century, it truly embodies a motto of having no regrets.

FYI

The Green River name is used for whiskies produced for Green River Spirits, the parent company. When the distillery is producing whiskey for others — such as Wheel Horse Rye for Latitude Beverage Co. — it uses Owensboro Distilling Co. for its name.

Among the many brands it produces, the distillery makes Terry Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, for Bradshaw Bourbon, and Duke Bourbon and Duke Rye, for Duke Spirits (both whiskeys are made from handwritten recipes by movie legend John Wayne).

Green River Distilling Co. 4 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon is anticipated to be available in 2021.

“DSP-KY-10” is the Green River distillery’s official site number.

Green River Distilling Co. Timeline

1885 1918 2014 2016 2018 2020

J.W. McCulloch moves his recently- purchased distillery to Owensboro and renames it Green River Distillery. A fire destroys much of the distillery. Although the property is rebuilt, Prohibition takes the wind out of its sails, and the company eventually moves away from Owensboro. After decades of changing ownership and attempts at renovation, Terressentia Corporation buys and renovates the property at 10 Distillery Road. Terressentia opens O.Z. Tyler Distillery, named for the founder of the company’s revolutionary rapid distilling process. O.Z. Tyler joins the famed Kentucky Bourbon Trail, becoming its westernmost point. O.Z. Tyler Distillery is renamed Green River Distilling Co., returning the distillery to its roots.