A New Arrival from a Burgeoning Craft Bourbon Star
Frey Ranch “Farm Strength Uncut” Cask Strength Nevada Estate Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) ($79.99)
“It’s lights out. All the ‘oomph’ of a single barrel, uncut and unfiltered, but with the added balance and complexity of a carefully composed blend … This is a showpiece both on the shelf and in the glass.” — Andrew Whiteley, K&L Spirits Buyer
You simply can’t get more farm-to-table, or farm-to-glass in this case, than Frey Ranch. This family farm with 165 years of history outside of Reno is now one of the country’s most dynamic craft distillers. Because they control the entire process from start to finish, farming all their own raw materials on their estate, the quality and character are simply uncompromising. After much anticipation, their Farm Strength Uncut has hit the shelves, and it’s nothing short of a barn-burner. For anyone who’s sought one of their unicorn single casks but come up short, this will more than fit the bill, with its cask-strength ABV married to a precisely composed, blended profile. The future is already bright for this rising star distillery, but it just went into another gear with this impeccable offering.
Frey Ranch “Farm Strength Uncut” Cask Strength Nevada Estate Straight Bourbon Whiskey (750ml) ($79.99)
K&L Notes: Colby and Ashley Frey, like the great farmers they are, keep their ear to the ground. They know what the people want, and they want Frey Ranch Uncut! Frey Ranch’s amazing Estate Bourbon is now available at “Farm Strength”—uncut and unfiltered, blended in tiny batches and utilizing their 100%-homegrown mashbill of 66.6% corn, 12% two row barley (malted on site in their custom malting drum!), 11.4% winter rye, and 10% soft winter wheat. Proof varies from batch to batch, but runs between 120 and 132 for most batches.
David Othenin-Girard | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: July 15, 2023
It seems that our friends at Frey Ranch have really figured it all out. Not only have they challenged the legacy model of bourbon production, developing their own recipe, using their own grain, on a scale no other craft producer has been able to match, but they’re consistently producing excellent whiskey at reasonable prices. The secret sauce is not challenging the ideal for what great bourbon should taste like, learning and adapting the techniques of the large producers to fit their unique environment. The result it inarguably one of the most successful craft bourbon distillers of this new era, and their whiskey just keeps getting better. The Farm Strength is an exercise in blending and starts to give us a better idea of the ultimate “house style” that’s developing at this special farm outside of Reno. Let’s have a go! The color is an inviting auburn. The nose starts a bit shut down, but there’s obvious power brooding in the glass. With a bit of air the whiskey begins to unravel, offering stewed fruit, roasted oak, old wood, varnish, cream corn, and fresh tobacco leaf. On the palate, there’s big sweetness, mostly of the caramel type, and more spice—clove and cinnamon—but the roasted oak character remains a big component. It finishes with a gorgeous raisinette character. I don’t often recommend adding water to cask-strength bourbon because it tends to lose more character than it gains, but I really enjoyed this with a splash of water. It really moves in a different direction and gives you some options if you’re feeling the big, bold oak isn’t what you’re after for that particular session. With water, we get pretty stone fruits, subtle smoked tea, touches of metallic industrial equipment, sweet grains, and soft nuttiness. On the palate, it’s now so sweet and easy, utterly appealing in every way. It’s really a completely different whiskey with water, and I think a very fun one that most people should seriously consider if they’ve followed any of the craft whiskey world over the last ten years.
Andrew Whiteley | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: July 15, 2023
Single barrels of Frey Ranch have been pretty much unobtainable. They instantly sell out, and they are always excellent. Well, the desire for cask-strength Frey Ranch whiskeys didn’t go unnoticed by Colby and Ashley, and they have started releasing this small-batch, uncut bourbon made from their unique, estate-grown, four-grain mashbill. It’s lights out. All the ‘oomph’ of a single barrel, uncut and unfiltered, but with the added balance and complexity of a carefully composed blend. Big on the barrel spice and sweet tones, it is also balanced by a distinctly earthy profile that I can’t help but attribute to the careful farming—it is as though just a touch of earth came through with the sweet grains in the still. Sweet caramelized sugars, tons of baking spice, cracked pepper, the fire of high proof, and just a bit of balancing savor. The tiniest hint of smoke really sets off the candied orange peel notes. This is screaming to be made into an Old Fashioned. Of course, it also comes in Frey Ranch’s proprietary bottle, perhaps the most stunning piece of glass on the market from any distiller. This is a showpiece both on the shelf and in the glass.
Will Blakely | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: July 14, 2023
The highly anticipated release is finally here! Every time I taste Frey Ranch, it gets better and better. What a wealth flavor from such a unique distillery. Deep aromas of stewed plum and varnished wood immediately leap out of the glass. Cocoa, fig, nougat, and warming spice comingle marvelously on the palate. The finish brings a bit of bananas foster and some burnt orange peel to round things out. With the addition of water, the spice profile explodes, and the palate takes on a higher tone. Candied citrus peel, honey roasted peanuts, and lemon curd come up ahead of just-ripened nectarine. I actually prefer it without water though; the mouthwatering concentration makes every sip a delight. Hopefully we will have plenty of this going forward, but don’t miss your chance to try it now!
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