By Richard Thomas
Rating: B+
Nevada’s Frey Ranch checks off a number of categories one often finds in the craft sector, but rarely all in the same basket. Their standard bourbon is made with a four grain mash bill, while their rye whiskey is 100% rye. They have bonded and single barrel whiskeys; in the craft sector, the former is a symbol of properly matured whiskey, while the latter is simpler to bottle at lower, craft-level production volumes. Finally, Frey Ranch is an estate distillery, growing their own grain.
Now Frey Ranch has introduced a five-grain bourbon, using all five of the cereal crops grown on their farm: 60% corn, 10% wheat, 10% rye, 10% malted barley, and 10% oats. The oats are the new addition, having never been used in a Frey Ranch whiskey before. As to why Frey Ranch, who have been around for more than a decade now, had not drawn on their oats before now, it’s because oats are a hard grain for a distillery or brewer to work with. In certain applications, oats can yield dividends, but they have a high hull and low starch content and are prone to gum up the machinery. So, they are labor intensive and yield less alcohol by weight compared to other grains, even rye.
This exotic new make was aged in ASBs with char #3 on the heads and #4 on the barrel for six years, then bottled as a single barrel at a cask strength of 130.24 proof.
The Bourbon
At 130 proof, there was never any question in my mind about adding water. The only question I resolved with an initial nosing was how much. So, with a tidy splash of water in, the color turned to dulled bronze.
Nosing my Glencairn gave me a scent of earthy cocoa powder and stick cinnamon, with hints of fresh cotton candy and caramel. The flavor profile develops a fruiter sweetness, so I would liken it to a chocolate and caramel candy apple… but only if that apple was flat enough to have a non-distinct fruit syrup flavor, and if the chocolate in question were ultra-dark and very earthy. Add to that some cookie spices and you’ve got it. The finish turns sharply to ginger, pepper and wood.
The Price
Expect to pay $89 or $90 for this bottle.
