A couple months ago, I mad one of my frequent trips to Oregon City/Portland, OR. One thing to know is that unlike California, or at least the area I call home, Supermarkets don’t carry liquor. I repeat the DO NOT carry liquor, they do carry beer, and Oregon, especially when you make your way north to the Portland areas, is the home of the Micro-Brew. So the beer is obviously going to be great, or at least they have a great selection.
So to get any of the hard stuff, you have to find a liquor store, and find it quick, because they close surprisingly early… seems counter productive to me… Any who, for New Years, we decided to mix up a few Old Fashioned’s, so we stopped at a shop in Oregon City, just down the street from my sister’s place. This was a pretty nice liquor store, for a liquor store… But I came across something that struck my eye, Rouge Brewery’s Dead Guy Whiskey. After a double-take, I realized I wasn’t just seeing things. For those of you who don’t know, Rouge is known for their selection of artisan brews, my favorite is actually their Dead Guy Ale. So it was a no brainer that I needed to put this in me.
Once I cracked the label, I found a surprisingly good whiskey for a company that’s normally known for artisan beers. It’s a lighter whiskey, in both the color and taste, which I’m sure comes from the short time that it’s left in the charred white oak barrels. It’s not very strong, it’s smooth. One thing that you’ll notice is the spicy/peppery after taste, which I appreciate, one of my favorite whiskeys is Hogshead by Edgefield Distilleries (another Portland brand), has a nice spice taste also.
Details on the back of their bottle read:
“Dead Guy Whiskey is distilled from the sweet wort of Rouge’s award-winning Dead Guy Ale. Distiller’s yeast is added and the sweet wort is fermented for 7 days then double distilled in a 150 gallon copper whiskey still and ocean aged in oak.”
It’s a 40% (80 proof) liquor. All in all, it’s a good drink, not my favorite, but worth a “sit & enjoy”, if that makes any sense. I normally drink good whiskeys “neat”, meaning no ice or mixers, this one I actually enjoy with an ice cube or two, just to open it up and get more drink out of the pour. I might pay $45 for another bottle, but maybe one of their other liquors, just to try them. But, if you haven’t tried it, buy a bottle, or wait for a friend to buy it and give it a taste before you drop the skrilla on it.
Happy Boozin’
Cheers!
- Brad
