Green River Distilling Co. is releasing its oldest product yet: Toasted Double Oak Bourbon, bottled at 115.1 proof at eight years old. The high-proof whiskey will be the first in the new Distillery Select line, an innovative series launched to allow Green River to experiment with proofs, finishes, and rickhouse selection. Toasted Double Oak Bourbon will be available at the Owensboro, Ky. distillery beginning June 20 and the brand’s tasting room in Louisville starting June 26.
Toasted Double Oak began with the distillery’s generic bourbon mashbill — 70 percent corn, 21 percent rye, and 9 percent malted barley — before maturing for eight years. The liquid then spent six months in lightly charred and toasted new, American oak barrels.
Brand tasting notes highlight fruit at the forefront with complementing flavors of wood sugars and spice. The mouthfeel is richer and more powerful than the typical Green River bourbon largely as a result of its high proof, according to a press release. This year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition awarded Toasted Double Oak a Double Gold, the second highest ranking the competition offers.
In April, Green River’s parent company Lofted Spirits slashed the majority of the distillery’s workforce and culled its production to “as needed” quantities. Last year, the distillery reduced its workforce by 25 percent. Despite the losses, Green River continues to release innovative whiskeys, such as a honey-finished bourbon that came out last month and a wheated, full-proof variety that launched earlier this year.
The distillery’s newest bourbon will come in 375-milliliter bottles and sell for $49.99, exclusively at the distillery and tasting room.
