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Tasting Our Way Through WhiskeyTown USA

The recently completed WhiskeyTown USA festival in Portland, Oregon gave us plenty of chances to try whiskies. Check out some of our field reports.

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WhiskeyTown USA

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on this brown spirit type.””,””sameAs””:[“”https://thewhiskeywash.com””,””https://www.facebook.com/thewhiskeywash/””,””https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninomarchetti””,””https://twitter.com/whiskeywash””],””url””:””https://thewhiskeywash.com/author/thewhiskeywash/””}]} Skip to content Home Reviews Articles American Bourbon Canadian Irish Scotch World Drinks Subscribe About Our Team Advertise Partners Whiskey Review Submission Guidelines Contact Us Search website Home Reviews Articles American Bourbon Canadian Irish Scotch World Drinks Subscribe About Our Team Advertise Partners Whiskey Review Submission Guidelines Contact Us Search website Search… Search Tasting Our Way Through WhiskeyTown USA Nino Kilgore-Marchetti followed by a soft, smooth, charcoal-y finish. Buy Connemara Now Buy 2 Ginger Now Rogue Proud of their in-house malting program and estate grain farm, Rogue is definitely aiming for grand whiskeys but their current products struck us as being very young and hot on the palate. We tasted a barrel-aged Manhattan, which was initially somewhat interesting but which overpowered the whiskey it was meant to showcase. We also sampled several expressions with interesting mash bills but not a lot of substance (yet). Maybe once they spend some more time in the barrel these whiskeys will make more sense in the glass. Buy Rogue Whiskeys image copyright The Whiskey Wash McMenamins After reviewing McMenamins’ Billy earlier this year we tasted it again at WhiskeyTown, where it still proved great. The honey-sweetened, high-proof, hopped expression called Monkey Puzzle, however, came off as a blue-cheesy, astringent tannin bomb. McMenamins, although typically a maker of lovely drams, appears to be caught up in the Oregon hop craze. This year, WhiskeyTown relocated from its previous digs near Tanner Springs Park to a more spacious spot on the edge of Slabtown. Although the weather and new location combined for a hot and dusty experience, Whiskeytown was still a great party (and for a good cause – portions of profits go to three different charitable organizations). Maybe we’ll see you there next year! By Tony Mazelin image copyright The Whiskey Wash I found the Tatoosh booth at Whiskey Town, USA; here in Portland Oregon recently. I had almost forgotten about this distillery, with the fun to say name, which a friend had told me about. This is a Seattle based distillery and sprits company that makes whiskey, bourbon and rye. The story as told to me by Nick Benzschawel- Brand Ambassador, as I remember it, was a Louisiana family made moonshine before prohibition. After a run in with the law in Louisiana, during prohibition, the great-great grandfather of the family left Louisiana and ended up in Seattle. The recipe was passed down over the generations. This is a 100 year old family recipe that was almost lost, but then the family decided to resurrect it again, legally this time. Nick also informed me that this was a “walking whiskey”. Now I have been around whiskey for some time and this was the first instance that I had found of a “walking whiskey” being mentioned. I have done some Volksmarch, and while in Germany it isn’t unusual to have a beer, I would much rather have a few drams of Tatoosh instead. I decided to conduct a review one of their whiskies, an 86 proof rye that’s made of 70% rye and 30% corn and aged in American oak. The corn adds sweetness and mellows it out nicely. My tasting notes Eye: light amber in the bottle and glass Nose: light spice, rye, smoke, sweetness of caramel and vanilla Pallet: rye, smoke, spices, pepper, dried fruit, cinnamon. Finish: medium in length, pepper warmth, honey I have to admit, I love this rye, and rate it a healthy 88 points. Now given the price point of only $39.95, I can see it easily being rated at 92, with that in consideration. I would love to see what they could do with letting this age a bit longer, say 10 years?


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medium in length, pepper warmth, honey I have to admit, I love this rye, and rate it a healthy 88 points. Now given the price point of only $39.95, I can see it easily being rated at 92, with that in consideration. I would love to see what they could do with letting this age a bit longer, say 10 years?
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Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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