Five Nine Bourbon

It's not often we get to debut a new bourbon, but when we tasted Five Nine, we knew we wanted to be the first in Wisconsin to carry it. It's exceptionally smooth, and has a pedigree that sets it apart from most other "new" bourbons that trace their origins to a warehouse rather than a distillery.

Five Nine is produced at the Green River Distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky, which holds the title of DSP-KY-10, meaning it is the 10th-oldest registered distillery in the entire state of Kentucky.

The original distillery was founded by John McCulloch in 1885. At the time, Owensboro and Western Kentucky were among the most important regions for bourbon production.

During the early 1900s, McCulloch’s whiskey was featured at the Paris Exposition, the Exposition Universelle de Liege, and the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition among several other competitions, earning numerous awards and worldwide acclaim. 

Then came 1918, when a fire tore through the distillery. The dawn of Prohibition two years later spelled disaster, and the distillery lay dormant for almost a century before being revived in 2014.

Today Green River is helmed by Master Distiller Jacob Call, who traces his own distilling history back eight generations and is dedicated to making whiskey worthy of the historic distillery. 

The distillery uses only locally-grown Kentucky corn sourced from farms they work with directly. The mash bill is 70% corn, 21% winter rye, and 9% malted barley.  The rye adds a spice, but doesn't overwhelm the blend, which is an exceptionally smooth 90 proof and features baking spice, maple, and caramel on the palate.

Up to this point, Five Nine has only been available through limited direct to consumer offerings, but now it's found a Wisconsin home at Waterford at the best price you'll find anywhere.