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Green River seems to be pretty universally loved these days. They and their sister brand Bardstown Bourbon Company are putting out some darn good whiskies. In the last six months, I've tasted both the traditional rye bourbon and wheated bourbon from them and quite enjoyed both. The other night, I was sitting around and wondered how they'd be mixed. The traditional bourbon leaned into some nice fruited notes while the wheated showed some pastry aspects and marshmallow fluff. How does a balanced blend hold up compared to the original subcomponents?
Vámonos!
For the uninitiated, Whiskey Frankenstein is the practice of whiskey blending at home to try to create improved or interesting combos.
🧪Preparation
I blended the two spirits in a 50/50 ratio to arrive at a 50ml sample. Proof should be in the 113-114 range.
Whiskies were measured using a 100ml lab-quality graduated cylinder wielded with questionable skill. Mechanical agitation (stirring/shaking) was applied at the time of blending and prior to consumption. Blend married one week before tasting.
👅The Tasting
Unfortunately, the nose is not promising. Lots of swirl and some astringency in a muddle that is worse than the two standalone. Mouthfeel is actually pretty good, much more towards the creamy thickness of the wheated than I would have expected. I had thought that the rye bill would be more dominant but I'm getting mostly the wheat influence. Baking spices and pastry dominate with a slight blueberry scone undertone that is actually pretty pleasant. Finish is short and bordering on refreshing. Where I was scared from the nose, the actual experience was downright drinkable and pleasant.
🏆Verdict
3 - Neutral - The half-and-half blend is pretty darn drinkable but doesn't improve upon either of its subcomponents. I'm interested in trying a 75/25 and will update later on the blog with the results. Think the rye bill's fruit is a bit more subtle (maybe due in part to differences in initial proof/concentration?). In any case, we started with good juice and ended with pretty good juice, so not a bad outcome!
Now that the hard work is over, time for a real quality PHD (pretty huge drink). Thanks for reading!
💀Scoring Reference
1 - Abysmal - Maybe I'm the monster? This is a war crime.
2 - Inferior - So preoccupied with the knowledge that we could, we didn't stop to think if we should.
3 - Neutral - A simple average of its parts. At least we did no real harm.
4 - Superior - "Jinkies Gang", we might be on to something here. Target whiskey is improved.
5 - Genius - Mad Science does have its perks; this is a breakthrough. Better than all inputs.