Review: Dry Fly Distilling Triticale Whiskey and Port Finish Wheat Whiskey

Review: Dry Fly Distilling Triticale Whiskey and Port Finish Wheat Whiskey

Review: Dry Fly Distilling Triticale Whiskey and Port Finish Wheat WhiskeyWashington state’s Dry Fly Distilling recently launched a line of specialty whiskeys (and an aged gin) called the Creel Collection. These exotic spirits offer no age statements and are available only in half-size bottles. We sampled two of the five offerings. Thoughts follow.

Dry Fly Distilling Straight Triticale Whiskey Review

Triticale isn’t a very sexy name that rolls off the tongue, but this rye/wheat hybrid developed in Scotland in the 1800s is as unique a whiskey as you’re likely to find. The nose is young — grainy and rustic, but far from rough. Those grain notes evolve in the glass to release some fruit flavors on the body — cherry notes, some apple — plus a touch of wood. All the while that graininess hangs on, leaving a bit of cereal on the finish and just a touch of spice, sweetening up as you sip on. 88 proof. B+ / $36 (375ml) [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Dry Fly Distilling Port Finish Wheat Whiskey Review

Mind you, the Port in question is Huckleberry Port, the former barrels of which are used to finish off this wheat whiskey before bottling. Extremely dark in color, this whiskey is exotic from front to back. Wood, cigar box, and incense-touched notes on the nose don’t give you much warning about what’s beneath. On the body, the impression is distinctly one of chocolate-covered blueberries. Lightly spicy up front, those candylike dessert notes are enticing and keep calling out to you for another encounter. The finish is long and warming, exotic — as a huckleberry isn’t quite a blueberry — but easy as pie. Huckleberry pie, I presume. 86 proof. A / $36 (375ml) [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

Dry Fly Distilling Port Finish Wheat Whiskey

USD36
9.5

Rating

9.5/10

A veteran journalist, the author of four books, a published poet, and an award-winning winemaker, Christopher Null has more than 25 years of experience writing about wine and spirits. He founded Drinkhacker in 2007. He also writes regularly about the science of booze for WIRED and is an occasional contributor to ADI's Distiller magazine. He has been a judge for both the American Distilling Institute Judging of Craft Spirits and Whiskies of the World spirits competitions and often works as a consultant, developing formal tasting notes for spirits brands around the world.

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