Oregon’s famous for creating many things, such as Marionberries, running shoes and goofy protesters. And while hoppy beers and structured wines are pillars of Oregon’s productivity, Oregon-made whiskey isn’t exactly on the national radar. It should be. And while Kentucky and Tennessee whiskeys are sought out nationwide (they used to be enjoyed worldwide, but in retaliation for punitive tariffs on all of our closest allies, the foreign market is drier than the 18th Amendment), the upside is we get to drink most of it ourselves.
The upcoming sixth annual Oregon Whiskey Festival, hosted by Bend’s Oregon Spirit Distillers, features a baker’s dozen of Oregon distilleries that make and age all their own whiskey. That includes brown spirits from bourbons and ryes to American single malts and even a trit. That’s the whiskey style pioneered by Branch Point Distillery in Dayton, Oregon, made from a grain called triticale, itself a hybrid of wheat and rye. The festival is as much a celebration of Oregon terroir as any fresh hop IPA fest in Portland or Pinot Noir fête in the Willamette Valley.
As Oregonians, we respect provenance. It’s that sense of embracing and nurturing Pacific Northwest terroir that leads several whiskey makers to use corn, barley, wheat and rye grown in the Beaver State, to say nothing of Oregon’s coveted watersheds featuring soft water ideal for brewing that other mineral-heavy water sources are unable to offer.
There’s one other critical ingredient to make exceptional whiskey. I’m not going to say “love” or “craftsmanship,” or as Oregon Spirit’s owner and master brewer Brad Irwin has said, “passion.” It’s time. This year’s Oregon Whiskey Festival lineup features more and longer age statements from participating distilleries than ever before.
Branch Point is bringing a nine-year triticale. Portland’s Bird Creek Whiskey is bringing an eight-year-old whiskey (finished on cognac staves at that). And McMenamins, which operates distilleries in Troutdale and Hillsboro, will have on offer a 14-year Devil’s Bit Rye and a 16-year Terminator Single Malt. Considering McMenamins first started its distilling operation in 1997, this whiskey has been aged for over half of that. Then there’s the host, Oregon Spirit. Attendees at the festival will be able to sample, and buy a bottle, of its newly bottled 10-year-old bourbon.
Irwin notes it’s bottled at a higher proof—116 compared to Oregon Spirit’s foundational bourbon at 90 proof—and retains the “grain notes… but sweetness, caramel and brown sugar and honey notes, continue to grow.”
Irwin, seated at the bar of his tasting room, then noted, “These aren’t garage (distilleries) anymore. They’ve got own their own rickhouses.” Across Oregon Spirit’s two rickhouses, Irwin says the distillery has some 2,500 barrels currently aging whiskeys.
As the infamously misattributed Chinese curse goes, may you live in interesting times. Just as the American independent, small-batch whiskey industry is maturing, the ill-advised tariffs have led to a trade war with America’s strongest allies, who have in response dropped the American whiskey export market back to the (merely) billion-dollar level. That includes a crash of more than 80% with the largest foreign market: Canada. You may have heard Jim Beam powered down its flagship distillery as a result of the global market drying up, but that’s also led to U.S. liquor stores being flooded with those very bottles.
At a time when a sizeable percentage of consumers are diminishing consumption if not turning away from alcohol entirely, and industrial producers are simultaneously flooding the domestic market with price-reduced product, Oregon makers welcome local support more than ever.
Admission includes a commemorative whiskey tasting glass, eight sampling tokens, food trucks and live music performed by Joanna Lee and Jacob Nelson.
Oregon Whiskey Fest
VIP Event Fri., Sept. 18; General public tasting Sat., Sept. 19. Doors 3pm (2pm with VIP)
$150 VIP, $40 general admission, free for designated drivers
740 NE 1st St., Bend
oregonwhiskeyfestival.com
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