Oregon Spirit Straight American Wheat Whiskey

Oregon Spirit Straight Wheat Whiskey 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 ran into this bottle while traveling through the Northwest over the holidays and hadn't seen it before.  However, a bit of research afterwards tells me at least some of their various offerings have nationwide distribution now so it may not be impossible to find if you wish to seek it out.  For tonight, I'm tasting this alongside Heaven Hill's Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey (my previous tasting). Mash Bill: Undisclosed, but described as "100% locally sourced grain" and predominantly winter wheat with "hints of rye and malt barley" Age: 4 years ABV: 45% Price: $39.99 Nose: Sweet and soft. The first whiffs hit you like you just opened a sweet, funky bag of raisins.  With time (I do recommend you give this some time and air), this opens up to reveal a surprising bouquet of charred oak, toffee, anise, buttered bread, new leather, and an earthy-botanical funk. It's definitely carries more heat (and funk) than the Bernheim Wheat Whiskey I'm tasting this alongside. Palate: Sweet, velvety, and mildly spicy.  A bit of heat.  Lots of toffee, anise, fennel, yeasty bread, charred oak, and more earthy funk.  The rounded, velvety mouthfeel is still light, but a bit more substantial and oily than the Bernheim.    I feel like there's more rye in the mix than they are letting on (perhaps our definitions of “hints” are different). Finish: Medium length, velvety, sweet, oily, and dominated by black licorice and barrel char.  Soft, friendly, mouthcoating astringency.  I like the balance of oak - while I was initially a bit skeptical of 4 years aged in the cooler climate of Bend, I'd wager they employ some quality barrels and barrel management schemes. Neither flimsy nor over-oaked. Overall Impressions:  I'll be honest, I went into this tasting with exceedingly low expectations.  And while this craft wheat whiskey isn't going to rock your world, its actually pretty good and I'm digging the uniqueness and funky bits. At it's unfavorable price point though, it's also up against some stiff competition, so you won't find much VFM here (but you will be supporting an independent, craft "grain to glass" operation that supports local agriculture and organic ingredients (where possible) if that's your thing).  I also (blindly) picked up a bottle of their bourbon and gin, but I may have made the mistake of starting out with the most crowd-friendly of those 3.  In any case, I'm really looking forward to contrasting the Oregon Spirit Gin with some of St. George's offerings, and further exploring the influence of Oregon Spirit’s esteemed Cascadian water. I’m floating between a 3.25 (Average) and 3.5 (Above Average), because I think it's worth seeking a pour if you can find it, but I don't think it's a bottle I would keep continuously stocked.  That said, I do know single pot still Irish whiskey and single malt Scotch are my preferred profiles, so I think it's a higher bar for me to keep an American whiskey or bourbon on my shelf.  I'm giving Oregon Spirit Straight Wheat whiskey a 3.25 and a point over the Bernheim for its uniqueness.  3.25 ~ 79 ~ Average

There aren't, as far as I know, a lot of wheat whiskies out there, and of those I do know of, this is the highest wheat - the mash bill is 74% wheat, 18% rye (which some consider in bourbon to be a high rye mash bill), and 8% barley. Those proportions are comparable to a lot of bourbon mashbills, though of course bourbon uses corn as the dominant grain. This whisky is 90 proof, five years old, and cost me $31.99 for a fifth at Total Wine. In the glass it's a dark copper. NOSE: The first thing is a huge burst of caramel. This is by far the dominant note. Then come a little eucalyptus, butter, honey, something that might be coconut, and something that might be Dr Pepper. That sounds like a horrible mishmash, but it's a very pleasant nose in reality. MOUTHFEEL: Average - neither conspicuously thick nor conspicuously thin. TASTE: Honey, cinnamon, a hint of eucalyptus, and caramel. FINISH: Eucalyptus, red pepper, chocolate underneath, and a lingering pepper. The first notes go away pretty quickly, but that last pepper stays for a long time. SUMMARY: This whisky is totally different from anything else I've ever had. The gentleness of the wheat lets the rye shine through, but the barley prevents the rye from dominating. Thus you get sweet and vegetal notes together in a unique and pleasant combination. This is good whiskey, and I'll absolutely buy it again. RATING: In my hick whisky scale, which numbers 1-8 from bottom to top, I give this a 6 - Fine. That's the same as 3.75 stars, 75/100, or 7.5/10.

Nose - Sun-Maid raisin, cherry, strawberry, apricot and other dry fruit, butterscotch, vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, sweet oak, brown sugar, apple, leather, nutmeg, peanut, licorice, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - raisin, grape, cherry, tobacco, leather, strawberry, apple, caramel, vanilla, spearmint, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, barrel spice, chocolate, peanut, licorice, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing fast and hot with dry fruit, oak char, caramel flavors. This is the whiskey version of trail mix. There’s some chocolate, nuts, raisins, and other dry fruit all brashly thrown together with no real elegance or finesse. It’s all just satisfactory, nothing exceptional. Compared to Oregon Spirit bourbon, the nose and arrival are not as good, but the development and into the finish are better, although there seems to be more youthful heat than in its counterpart. I’m going to put this one notch lower than the bourbon, because there’s nothing particularly noteworthy here, as there was with the bourbon’s explosion of flavor on the arrival. It’s, well, just average and that’s ok. But if I want to buy a bottle of just average whiskey, this wouldn’t be the one. There are better options for half the price on the shelves near me.

Very pleasant sipper. Though it’s 50% ABV, I don’t think it would be very good in cocktails because though there are multiple, pleasant flavors, I think the flavors would get overshadowed in a cocktail. The flavors are subtle and sweet, carmel, vanilla, maple syrup. Definitely a different flavor profile than I’ve tasted. I expected the flavor would be similar to a wheated burboun and it’s not. If you are looking for something with a different flavor profile at a very reasonable price, Oregon Wheated Whiskey fits the bill.

On the nose there's just the faintest hint of an anise seed note I personally dislike, but it's not too off-putting here. It's sweet and a little vegital on the taste. Not dusty corn, more dry moss, maybe. There's just a pinch of spicy smoldering on the finish, which is otherwise long with fallen leaves perhaps. When I first tried it a few months ago, it got relegated to use in Whiskey Sours (for which it's actually excellent), but it's growing on me. A pleasant experience on its own, and I'm glad I gave it another try neat.

A creamy wheat whiskey from Oregon that has an aromatic birth of with notes of grain, wood, herbs & spices; while a rich & full life adds notes of wheat & butterscotch, cinnamon & kettle corn; that led to a balanced death of medium length. April / July 2017 / July 2019 / August 2022