McMenamins Ready To Share Its St. Paddy’s Day Only Whiskey With You

The arrival of St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow here in the Portland, Oregon area, where The Whiskey Wash is based, marks yet another year for me to travel over to the adult drinking Disneyland of Edgefield. Known to locals as one of the best places to spend all day imbibing in wine, liquor and beer, all produced onsite, this huge former poor farm is now a showcase place for the McMenamins brewpub chain in the Pacific Northwest. My reason for going there tomorrow though is not [that much] liquor consumption and golf, but rather to snag my 2015, two bottle allotment of Devils Bit Whiskey.

For those of you who were following this blog this time last year you’ll perhaps remember the huge piece we posted on a trip to Edgefield’s distillery to sample the 2014 Devils Bit and talk with the head distiller there. For the new version, what is in the bottle, according to McMenamins, is a whiskey

distilled from organic, floor-malted Maris Otter barley malt. Maris Otter is highly regarded by brewers for its bready, toasty and biscuit-like flavors. To balance the intense bread and toast flavors, Edgefield distillers aged this whiskey for five years in a used Syrah port barrel from McMenamins winery.

Bottled at 92 proof, the new Devils Bit will be available tomorrow not only at just Edgefield but also the McMenamins locations of Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, Kennedy School, Old St. Francis School, Crystal Hotel, Grand Lodge, Hotel Oregon, Lighthouse Brewpub, North Bank, Old Church Brewery & Pub, Gearhart Hotel & Sand Trap Pub and Roseburg Station Pub & Brewery. It usually sells out early (only 1,000 bottles were produced), so it is best to get to one of these locations sooner rather than later to drop $17 per 200 ml flask-sized bottle. Official tasting notes are below and, as for me, I’ll perhaps see you tomorrow at Edgefield.

The initial nosing of the spirit is very delicate with notes of jasmine, dark berries and a bit of vanilla. At first, the whiskey almost smells brandy-like but then the palate brings you right back to firm notes of barley malt. From there the whiskey takes you on a tour of flavors—almonds, butterscotch, vanilla, light citrus and grape tannin—before finishing long and sweet on the back palate.