Oregon Spirit Straight American Bourbon

Oregon Spirit Straight American Bourbon is produced in Bend, Oregon by Oregon Spirit Distillers, a proud "grain to glass" craft operation that opened up in 2009. They source their grains locally and mash, ferment, distill, and age on-site in charred, new American oak barrels. I previously reviewed Oregon Spirit Wheat Whiskey - I ran into these guys while traveling through the Northwest over the holidays. Mash Bill: Undisclosed, but described as a four-grain bourbon with "100% locally sourced” corn, wheat, malt barley, and rye Age: 4 years ABV: 47% Price: $36.99 Nose: I am little surprised it took me this long to place the nose but when sampling spirits, setting is everything. Now that I’ve identified it, it’s unmistakable – this smells strongly of earth and juniper. If I didn’t know any better, I would suspect I might be smelling an aged gin. Skimming through other reviews, I see this bourbon described in polarizing ways – I suspect that the gin-like nose on this dram is unexpected and offputting to many. It’s woody, creamy, earthy, and strongly evergreen with the juniper. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever smelled in bourbon before. Palate: Sweet and silkily bodied. I know “smooth” as a descriptor is the bane of the whisky drinker’s world, but this is smooth, consistent, and lacks the waxing and waning of flavors many spirits have. Creamy juniper with some vaguely sweet corn and floral notes. No heat, no surprises. Finish: Softly sweet and junipery. Very mild oak char. Verdict: My goodness, how do I rate this? As an aged gin, it would probably stack up very well. I almost find that a laughable prospect considering no botanicals have been macerating in this. It’s just 4 grains, yeast, local water, and charred wood. As a classic bourbon, it is less successful in that role. Since I’ve tried their wheat whiskey and got notes of anise, fennel, and some earthy funk, I’m going to guess the juniper note is coming their local rye but I have no way of corroborating that since I haven’t tried their rye. In any case, as a very odd yet drinkable bourbon, I have to give it…. 2.75 ~ 74 ~ Below Average Now to find some gin-centric cocktails for this guy… 😜

I found extremely little information about the mash bill. I only found one place which gave percentages, and I discounted it because it omitted entirely one of the four grains. The other place I found information on the mash bill was Oregon Spirit's own site, which didn't give any percentages, but said that it contains corn, rye, wheat, and sprouted barley. I had expected to find wheat in the mash bill, because this whisky gives me notes that recent experience has associated in my mind with wheat whisky or a high wheat bourbon. The bottle cost me $44.99 at Total Wine. It's 94 proof, has a four year age statement, and in the glass is a dark copper color. NOSE: When I nosed the whisky I immediately got honey and mint mixed. There was a faint butter note sliding underneath, and then as I continued to nose the whisky I got notes of mint chocolate chip ice cream, a pine forest, and a warmth that spread over anything. Everything I got on the nose, I got before I took the first sip; this is unusual, because normally after I have a sip or two I can get a little more from the nose. MOUTHFEEL: Buttery. TASTE: It began with a light honey note, then a light cinnamon, and then peppermint, black pepper, and brown sugar. Both the nose and the palate are unique in my experience - while they resemble both Oregon Spirit wheat whisky and Redemption wheated bourbon, they're not identical. FINISH: The finish is medium long, though the length is merely the slow fading of the last note. I got first a generalized spice, then mint, eucalyptus, and black pepper. SUMMARY: This is a fantastic whisky. It's a four grain bourbon, with characteristics of bourbon, rye, and wheat whisky. It's worth every penny of the 45 bucks I paid, and I highly recommend it. RATING: My hick scale has eight levels, counting from the bottom, and this comes in at 7, Right Fine. This equates to 4.375 stars, 87.5/100, or 8.75/10. I think the only thing that it would take to move this up to the highest level would be more age or more proof (and there is a bottled in bond expression, which I've not tried, but I expect to be excellent).

Nose - cherry, berry, Cap’n Crunch, licorice, clove, dill, salted caramel, cinnamon, peanut, vanilla, leather, tobacco, eucalyptus, apricot, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - prepared caramel, cherry, cinnamon bark, clove, leather, wine, red berry, sweet tobacco, dry vanilla, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing fast and bitter with sour barrel char, cinnamon, and tannic leather flavors. Being the glutton for punishment that I am, I’ve decided to embark on another tasting series of a Total Wine house whiskey brand. After the Winchesters I endured, I have very low expectations for this brand. I’m pleasantly surprised by the nose. It’s reminiscent of a young MGP rye, with the dill, licorice, and clove aromas, but this is much sweeter and berrylicious. Along with some of the classic bourbon notes, cherry and peanut make a strong entrance. The palate arrival is the nicest piece of the experience. Immediate rich, salted caramel and cherry shock my tongue. Is there wheat in the mash bill? Yep, just confirmed it’s a four grain with wheat as a component. Strong cherry notes usually coincide with a nontrivial percentage of wheat in the mix for me. After the arrival, things head south. The flavors muddle and that familiar, hot youthful sourness appears, quickly ending not with a bang, but a sour, dry whimper. Overall, this is neither terrible nor particular exciting, just slightly above average for me. If the finish wasn’t so disappointing, I could find it in myself to even call this good. Tune in next time for my thoughts on their rye and wheater. All things considered, I’m pleasantly surprised so far.

The Oregon Spirit bourbon is a straight American bourbon, with a corn forward approach with a mix of rye, wheat and malted barley. The combination of the mash bill should provide sweet, earthy, spice that should hold for an interesting experience. The Nose is noticeable right out of the pour, the rich and intense aromas are noticeable long before a swirl or a whiff. Cinnamon spice rolls out of the glass and decorates a wood and slight vanilla like nose—cereal grains accompany a deeper spice note as you approach the glass. What’s also noticeable is a well heavy dose of ethanol, maybe it’s due to the age but it’s noticeable and ruins what would be an otherwise pleasant aroma. The taste—intense cinnamon spice is very forward, while the finish is slightly sweet and woody. Second taste a little more develop nice fruity notes underneath the rich spice, the oaky and vanilla finish is a nice touch. The drink isn’t overly complex and is fairly simple, the spice really comes through, maybe even too much, would be nice to get a bigger hint of the fruit, oak and vanilla that’s pretty pleasant. The Oregon spirit is definitely worth a visit, it doesn’t have a great nose, nor is it very complex, but it’s a great pour with intense spice forwardness and a polite woody vanilla finish, it leaves more to be desired, but was surprisingly good. — the scotch guy

Nose: Raisin, toffee, macadamia nut cookie Palate: uncooked dough, oak, burnt bread crust, full-bodied, grainy Finish: oak char, quick This is not my favorite pour in the world. The nose is inviting, but the palate falls on its face big time. Oregon spirit is a 4 grain, but it feels like the wheat and rye are fighting each other. Kinda creates this weird dough with burnt rye scattered around. I'd personally stick with their wheat whiskey.

The nose was interesting. Both uncommentable and curious. The feel was kinda runny and watery. The taste went from sweet to a slight taste of Scope in less than 10 seconds. The aftertaste was grainy, seaside with a hint of ethanol. While certainly unique, this one ain't my jam. I gave it away (minus 1.5 oz) to my nephew to dilute with a brown carbonated refreshment.