Photos by Robby Klein
After more than 20 successful years in the country music industry, singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley is trying his hand at a new venture: bourbon. A longtime whiskey drinker, Bentley launches his Row 94 whiskey label today. It’s been a passion project for Bentley, and one he’s spent a couple of years working on through a partnership with Green River Distilling in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Row 94 debuts with this straight bourbon, which features a high-rye mashbill (70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley) and is bottled at 47% ABV (94 proof, a tie-in to the brand name). It’s aged for 4 years in new white oak barrels with a No. 4 char. Row 94 ($40) initially launches in Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, and row94whiskey.com, with additional states expected in 2025.
For Bentley, the parallels between country music and whiskey made the transition to bourbon-making feel natural. In an exclusive interview with Whisky Advocate, Bentley noted that whiskey, much like country music, is distinctively American and has a rich history that drew him in. Bentley says Hank Williams Jr. inspired his country music career, and Hank Jr. is a known bourbon aficionado, so that influenced him too. And he adds that while he’s enjoyed bourbon for a long time, Bentley really started to appreciate it during the Covid-19 pandemic, and he used the downtime that came with pandemic life to work on his palate and learn about the history of America’s native spirit.
“I’m an old-school country music kind of guy and when I went to Green River, it felt like my kind of music in the form of a distillery,” Bentley says. “It’s old school and has some relics lying around from previous generations. And it’s all about the people—the people I met with at Green River are good Kentucky people.”
The mashbill for Row 94 is based on the recipe of Green River’s flagship Kentucky straight bourbon, and Bentley says using that as a starting point was helpful in developing the flavor profile for his label. The high-rye content and higher proof are important, he notes, because they add heat, which he prefers. In addition, Row 94 features the tagline “Made with three ingredients and the truth,” but also the roots of country music. For Row 94, the three ingredients are premium grain, purified Kentucky limestone water, and cultivated yeast. But the expression is a play on a phrase by 1950s country music songwriter Harlan Howard, who said country music is made with just three chords and the truth, a commentary on its musical structure and storytelling.
“I thought it’d be cool to reapply that to what I’m doing,” Bentley says. “It has significance for me. Row 94 is a serious whiskey but we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and I love the tie-in back to country music. The juice is good, the price is good, and so is the bottle and label. It’s authentic to me and not just a side project.”
Working with Green River on Row 94 has been a fortuitous pairing. Bentley moved to Nashville in 1994 and discovered bluegrass music that same year. Owensboro, Kentucky, where Green River’s distillery is located, is the home of bluegrass music and houses a museum for the genre. Furthermore, Nashville has a famed Music Row and Bentley operates a gastropub called Whiskey Row, which has locations in Nashville, Arizona, and Colorado. All of that ties back to the brand name, Row 94. The label features an image of a thunderbird, which Bentley says pays homage to his father and was featured on some of the artwork for his albums.
While there are not yet firm plans for additional whiskeys in the Row 94 portfolio, Bentley doesn’t rule it out. “I’m really happy with what we have and I’d love to see it stand on its own,” the country music star says. “When I make music, I want an album that I can look at and say ‘I didn’t take any shortcuts. There’s nothing I would’ve done differently.’ My albums reflect a chapter in my life and I write the songs for me. It’s the same with this whiskey.”
