Green River Honey Whiskey Review: A $25 Summer Sipper

Green River Honey Whiskey is a $25, 92-proof pour we’d buy again. Honey leads the flavor, but caramel, rye spice, and toasted bourbon still come through. It delivers the sweetness we expected without losing the bourbon character we wanted.

At a glance

• Proof: 92
• Base bourbon: Four-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon
• Mash bill: 70% corn, 21% rye, 9% malted barley
• Price: $25 MSRP
• Tom’s rating: Solid red on our scale
• Steve’s rating: Solid red on our scale

Real Kentucky honey goes straight into the barrel

Green River calls this a honey-finished bourbon. They add 100% real, locally sourced, unfiltered Kentucky honey directly to the bourbon barrel. Then they give the honey, whiskey, and oak time to marry.

That approach caught our attention. Green River’s pitch is to move away from very sweet, low-proof honey whiskeys with barely any bourbon character. The proof point alone made us curious before the first sip.

Green River sent us the bottle in a heavy-duty presentation package. It included a sample of the Kentucky honey and a Green River-branded honeycomb. The bee artwork even worked their horseshoe logo into the design.

We already like Green River’s bottle shape and style. The substantial real cork is another nice touch at this price.

Green River’s bourbon background

Green River was founded in 1885 and is the 10th-oldest licensed distillery, reflected in its DSP-KY-10 designation. The brand was reintroduced in 2022. It sits under Lofted Spirits alongside Bardstown Bourbon Company.

We’ve enjoyed several bottles from the lineup. Full Proof has a slight edge over Wheated in one of our personal comparisons. The Full Proof Wheated we tried recently is another favorite, combining two things we already like from Green River.

Nose: raw honey, beeswax, and orange zest

We both picked up beeswax and raw honey right away. It has that honeycomb smell, with a floral sweetness that made us think of clover honey. We don’t know the honey variety, but that was the impression.

Vanilla and caramel bring in a familiar bourbon nose. There isn’t much oak on the nose, though.

We also found orange peel or orange zest, plus a subtle cornbread note. There may be a little rye showing through, too.

Palate and finish: honey first, bourbon follows

We wanted bourbon up front and honey on the finish. This does the reverse, and we like it.

The first hit is full honey sweetness across the lips and front of the palate. Then the bourbon arrives, bringing caramel, rye spice, and clove. The flavor breaks into clear stages instead of staying at one level of sweetness.

There’s also a tart, almost lemon-like note. Paired with the honey, it reminded us of sweet tea with lemon. A rich buttered biscuit flavor gives the sweetness some fullness.

Through the middle, we picked up a stronger rye-spice character. We think the rye in the mash bill helps give it that shape, while the corn pairs nicely with the honey.

The back end brings orange, vanilla, caramel, and a toasted note. We still taste oak, cinnamon, and clove. That matters here: the honey enhances the bourbon instead of covering it up.

Mouthfeel: coating without being too thick

The mouthfeel lands around medium viscosity. It coats the mouth and sticks around, but we wouldn’t call it overly thick.

That lingering honey reminded us of how fruit stayed alongside the whiskey in a blackberry pour we remember as either Jack Daniel’s or Starlight. Here, the honey keeps its place beside the bourbon rather than disappearing after the first taste.

The opening drinks softer than we expected at this proof. The finish gives us more of that 92-proof presence, without a sharp hit at the front.

Neat pours, ice, and Gold Rush potential

We both enjoyed this neat. That surprised us because honey whiskey often sounds more appealing as a mixer than a straight pour.

For summer, an ice cube sounds especially good. A splash of sweet tea could work nicely with the lemon-and-honey flavors we found.

A Gold Rush sounds like the strongest cocktail match. We also think a whiskey sour would work well. For an Old Fashioned twist, we’d probably leave out the simple syrup because the whiskey already brings plenty of sweetness.

One of us still wanted more kick. A full-proof version around 107 to 115 proof could be interesting, especially with that sweet opening. Blending some with Green River Full Proof Wheated also sounds promising, though we haven’t tested that combination.

Value against Garrison Brothers and Blue Note

This has the kind of price-to-flavor balance we look for when talking about the best bourbon under $50.

At the time of our tasting, one of us had already spotted roughly six bottles at a local store. They had just arrived, with a sign showing the $25 MSRP. Finding it on the shelf at the stated price strengthens the value argument.

We’ve enjoyed Garrison Brothers’ honey whiskey, but we remember it at roughly $80 to $85 for 80 proof. That is a much bigger spend.

The Blue Note honey bottles we reviewed were roughly $60. We preferred the rye to the bourbon in that comparison, but either way, Green River comes in well below that price.

To us, this tastes like an upgrade over the familiar honey-flavored whiskeys. We want to test that impression blind against Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam Honey. Wild Turkey and Evan Williams offer other honey-whiskey options, though one of us couldn’t find Evan Williams locally.

A contender for our budget bottle of the year

We wouldn’t expect this to land among our top five whiskeys of the year. A contender for our number-one budget banger, though? Absolutely. It gives us enough flavor and bourbon character to make replacing the bottle an easy decision.

It’s also an approachable choice for friends getting into bourbon or people who don’t enjoy high-proof pours. We’d happily bring it to a party without worrying about how quickly the bottle disappears.