Have
you ever heard of ocean ageing spirits? Actually,
until this Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey sailed
through my front door, I knew of only one distiller that ocean
aged their spirit, and that was a cognac producer in France.
I guess that plain old caves just aren't good enough for these
guys. The theory is that the gentle rolling wave action constantly
keeps the spirit moving about the barrel thus increasing its
contact with the oak barrel's staves - thus, aging the spirit
more quickly and uniformly. Pretty neat idea as long as a
storm doesn't come along and sink the ship, ouch.
Since
1987, Rogue Spirits has been producing award winning beers
throughout Oregon and has expanded into California and Washington.
They
added spirits to their rather extensive offering of craft
brews, and now also offer vodka, gin, whiskey, rye and rum.
This Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey is distilled
using the sweet wort from their Dead Guy Ale. They add proprietary
Pacman distiller's yeast and "free range" coastal
water to the wort and let it ferment for seven days then double
distill it in a copper whiskey still and then ocean age it
in oak barrels for at least one year.
That
sure is one hell of a lot of effort for a bottle of whiskey,
so let's see what all the fuss is about. Rogue Dead
Guy Whiskey comes in a clear round bottle capped
by a standard type beer bottle cap and has, affixed to its
neck, a handy dandy old fashioned stopper to use once you've
thrown the bottle cap away. The label shows a skeleton crouched
over a barrel. The whiskey is a pale honey color and the overall
effect is quite inviting. Based on the label alone, this could
become the Halloween spirit you've been looking for, hee hee!
Okay,
let's get on with it. Then nose has the definite aroma of
wort and probably should since they use five different types
of malts. At first, it smelled more of beer rather than whiskey,
but as it aired out in the snifter, the beer smell subsided
and was replaced by a citrus aroma followed by the whiskey
and then finally the oak. On the palate, it definitely tastes
more like whiskey rather than beer and that whiskey flavor
is mellow and smooth but lightly layered. Then the citrus
and oak step forward followed by a light honey flavor. The
finish is smooth, sweet and short but also smoky and oaky.
I
love their use of five different malts, as it definitely takes
this whiskey in its own direction. It faintly resembles some
lighter scotches I've tasted yet tastes nothing like your
average whiskey. It's light and easy to sip and leaves me
thinking as to what might develop if they aged it a bit longer?
Other than that, it's a very good whiskey with a unique taste
profile all its own.
Dead
Guy Whiskey weighs in at 40% ABV or 80 proof and is available
in 750ml bottles for around $38.99 to $45.99
By George Brozowski
For
more Rants & Raves click
here.
http://www.rogue.com/rogue_spirits/dead-guy-whiskey
