Green River Sour Mash

[AVB]

Here is something you don't see every day.

[funknik]

Interesting that it says "Straight" but doesn't specify bourbon, rye, etc. Would one assume that the contents are bourbon, though?

[jinenjo]

"Whiskey without a headache."

You don't see labels like that anymore. Great looking bottle, too.

[shoshani]

Originally Posted by funknik

Interesting that it says "Straight" but doesn't specify bourbon, rye, etc. Would one assume that the contents are bourbon, though?

It's bourbon. That same web page links to another, http://www.greenriverwhiskey.com , which enumerates the contents of the mashtubs as being corn with rye and malt in an old clipping reproduced there.

Other clippings reproduced on that Green River site seem to heap much praise upon Green River. The process of long maturation in charred barrels by which alone the color is imparted to whiskey is described in great detail in this vintage material - and there is even an illustration of distillery workers arranging barrels of whiskey on 3-high ricks!

I wonder if the McCullough distillery had any arrangements with the Stitzel family, because not only did one of the Stitzels patent the idea of the modern ricking system, this illustration very clearly shows 8 hoops on each barrel. Stitzel-Weller made a special point of using 8 hoops as well, rather than the standard 6 in use by all other distilleries.

Apparently, McCullough was a big advocate of the Bottled In Bond act, and railed against counterfeiters who sold highwines as pure Kentucky whiskey.

Green River wound up with American Medicinal Spriits, and was remade into a blended whiskey sometime after Prohibition - I've seen at least one blended GR ad from 1937. I don't think the brand is being used today, but it certainly sounds as though it was one hell of a whiskey in its day.

[bourbonv]

Green River was the most advertised whiskey in the United States before prohibition. There are Green river tokens and bar pieces to be found in flea markets on a regular basis today. That illustrates how much was made. Afire in 1918 pretty much put the distillery out of business because wartime prohibition made it unprofitable to rebuild. The last of the Green River whiskey was sold by AMS during prohibition. After prohibition, the distillery was sold to new owners and eventually became the Medley distillery that is being re-opened by Angastura today.

The brand was also sold to new owners and was made at several central Kentucky distilleries, including Chapeze Station, until it was sold to Schenley in the 1940's. Schenley kept the brand alive until the 1960's and it was passed on to United Distillers. While at United Distillers, I did research about bringing the brand back for the newly opened central Europe markets, but Green River reminded them too much of the polluted rivers of the Communist regimes and preferred James E Pepper as a brand, so the brand remains in the hands of Diageo.

Mike Veach

[shoshani]

I was about to look for your email address, Prof Veach. Did you see that Green River website? That's a fascinating archival "peek into the past". Charred barrels, ricks, corn/rye/malt mashbill, everything that would be recognized by any Kentucky distiller today is there in the McCullough operation of the late 19th century.

[mozilla]

Originally Posted by shoshani

I wonder if the McCullough distillery had any arrangements with the Stitzel family, because not only did one of the Stitzels patent the idea of the modern ricking system, this illustration very clearly shows 8 hoops on each barrel. Stitzel-Weller made a special point of using 8 hoops as well, rather than the standard 6 in use by all other distilleries.

I have seen many photos and advertisments that show most of the barrel makers using 8 hoop barrels. The six hoop barrels were not popular until the 60-70's, IIRC.

[shoshani]

Originally Posted by mozilla

I have seen many photos and advertisments that show most of the barrel makers using 8 hoop barrels. The six hoop barrels were not popular until the 60-70's, IIRC.

Probably slightly earlier, then. I don't have Sally Campbell's book handy with me at the moment, but I recall the 8 vs 6 hoop being pointed out in at least one of Pappy's ads, so it had to have been within his lifetime. So maybe he was pointing out yet another old-fashioned way of doing things that had fallen by the wayside...

[bourbonv]

I beleive the six hooped barrels started during WWII as a way to save iron. Since they seemed to work as well as the eight hooped barrels, many distilleries stayed with them as a way to save money on cooperage. Others, such as Stitzel-Weller, went back to the older 8 hoop barrels as a symbol of quality over expense.

I have seen the Green River site. Interesting site. Green River Whiskey has a lot of collectors across the U.S. "The Whiskey without a headache" and "She was bred in Ol' Kentucky" were the two main advertising themes. The later depicted an old African-American Gent with a broken down old mule.

Mike Veach

[jinenjo]

Originally Posted by jinenjo

"Whiskey without a headache."

You don't see labels like that anymore.

Now that I think of it, they most likely said that on the label because it was a genuine straight bourbon and not rectified juice.