Photos by Robby Klein
When country music megastar Dierks Bentley set his mind to create and launch his own bourbon, there were a few things he was looking for. First, it had to be made in Kentucky for authenticity’s sake. Second, he wanted it to be 94 proof for a little more bite than the typical bottle on the shelf and aged for four years because that’s when bourbon tastes best to him. And third, he wanted a low price point so that everyone could enjoy it.
After visiting several distilleries in Kentucky, a lot more research, and plenty of tasting, he found a perfect partner to produce his passion project in Green River Distillery.
A promo video on the Row94 Facebook page shows Bentley walking through the rickhouses at Green River and touring the facility. Perched on a barrel in the rickhouse, he says to the camera, “For me, I didn’t want to just endorse a product, I wanted to be involved in something I would use myself.”
“One thing I’ve learned about the process is how cool it is to be at the distillery,” Dierks continues. “It’s so fun. It reminds me of when I take someone backstage at a concert. They’re always so excited to see behind the scenes, and for me it’s like that when I visit the distillery – meeting the people, seeing how it’s made from start to finish. This is a uniquely American process. Walking through the rickhouses and seeing all this is so fun.”
Dierks even showed some love to Green River in an interview with Men’s Journal Magazine in an article about Row94 when he said, “Not many in my field can create something like this, but I can because of my friendship with Green River, the 10th oldest distillery in Kentucky. This connection allows me to offer a quality whiskey -a four year Kentucky straight – for under $40, and I’m incredibly proud of that.”
Bentley has made several appearances in Owensboro, dating all the way back to a concert at the former Executive Inn Rivermont in his early touring days and most recently his headlining Saturday Night performance at ROMP 2024. He was even spotted eating lunch at Moonlite after a reported visit to Green River in January of 2023.
Then in September, Dierks and Green River officially launched Row94. Ever the entrepreneur, you can bet Row94 will be served in Bentley’s four Whiskey Row bar locations, including the one on Broadway in downtown Nashville. Since its release, Row94 is also being sold in Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Colorado, and Arizona, with additional states slated for 2025.
The name has several layers of meaning to Bentley. The 94 hearkens back to 1994, the year Bentley moved to Nashville to pursue his music career. The “row” is a nod to Nashville’s Music Row. The name also reflects the fact that the recipe is 94 proof, which provides the bite that Bentley personally prefers in his bourbon. And as he says in the promo video, “‘94 is also the year I discovered bluegrass music, which all ties back to Owensboro since Owensboro is home to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame which is a place I really feel connected to. So Row94 is a very special name to me.”
The brand logo is the thunderbird, a symbol also near and dear to Bentley’s heart, which fans may still remember gracing his landmark album, Riser. The thunderbird is an emblem of strength and an ode to everyday people that believe in hard work, truth, pride, freedom, optimism, fun, and making the most of every day.
As the Row94 website explains it, “Dierks Bentley lives to make country music that reminds us to settle for nothing less than the best of times. It was Dierks’ dream to create a bourbon of the finest quality and affordable enough for the everyman – a serious bourbon that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Row94 is a bourbon that Dierks and his fans can enjoy on the big nights and everyday gatherings, amplifying the country in us all.”
It’s an old adage that the best country songs are made of three chords and the truth. Dierks says Row94 is crafted with “three Ingredients and the truth” – premium grain, purified Kentucky limestone water, and cultivated yeast.
Mark Erwin, CEO of Bardstown Bourbon Company and Green River says Dierks’ passion for whiskey and doing things the right way was evident from the first time he met with Green River’s team. “He loves the Green River Distillery and wanted it to be the home for ROW 94. We are excited to be partnering with him and his team on this great brand and look forward to seeing what they can do with this great liquid.”
In this exclusive interview, Dierks answered a few questions for Owensboro Living readers.
OL – You could have chosen any number of distilleries for Row94 – what was it that impressed you about Green River?
DB – I toured multiple distilleries and when I went to Green River, it kind of felt like my music in the form of a distillery…no cutting corners, country. I fell in love with it. At the end of the day, it’s all about the people and they’ve been doing it as long as almost anyone else.
OL – You’ve performed in Owensboro several times. Did your musical connection to Owensboro play into your decision to choose Green River?
DB – For me, Bluegrass Music and bourbon are from Kentucky and Owensboro is such an important and historically rich town for both. It’s not that other great music and bourbon can’t be made other places, but I didn’t consider anywhere outside of Kentucky. I knew I wanted to make a four-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey at a price point that made sense to my fans. And, I wanted to do all of that without any of the processes they have these days to make it age faster in order to save money, and Green River had the track record to prove they could do that. Row 94 is 94 proof and 1994 is also the year I discovered bluegrass music. It all really ended up being a natural fit.
OL – When/how did you originally have the dream to bottle your own signature bourbon? What sparked that idea?
DB – When I first started playing country music, I loved Hank Williams Jr. and Hank drank Jim Beam, so that’s what I drank. But as I got older, drinking bourbon really became more about the experience, especially with friends and family. I know there are a lot of celebrity spirits and other options out there, but I wanted to give my fans a quality whiskey that didn’t kill their budget. It’s a $40 bottle that tastes like a $100 bottle. I’m proud of what we made and feel like Row94, the drink, the bottle, the label – every last detail – was done intentionally. OL