One craft distillery that consistently knocks things out of the park is Frey Ranch out of Fallon, Nevada. Yeah, Nevada. It is a working ranch dating back to 1854, and for the last several years, they’ve been distilling whiskey. Frey Ranch is a complete grain-to-glass (or estate-grown) distillery. Colby Frey, both a farmer and a distiller, sustainably grows his own grains on over 1,500 acres in the Sierra Nevada Watershed. The entire production process takes place on site, with no shortcuts.
Frey
Ranch’s whiskeys are attractively packaged in hefty bottles debossed with the
ranch’s registered brand. The stopper appears to be made of brass and is
embossed with the brand. The entire presentation gives a perception of quality.
The subject of today’s review is Frey Ranch Farm Strength Uncut Rye Whiskey. It carries a six-year age statement and is distilled from a 100% slow-grown Canadian Winter Rye mash grown on the farm. It is the same whiskey as its Bottled-in-Bond Rye that I reviewed last year, just at its uncut strength, and carries a suggested price of $79.99.
“Our Farm Strength Uncut Bourbon has outperformed even our wildest expectations since we launched it in the summer of 2023, so it made logical sense for us to expand our cask strength core offerings with a rye whiskey – especially as ultra-premium ryes defy the category downturn and are experiencing substantial growth within the overall American Whiskey industry.” - Colby Frey, Co-Founder & Whiskey Farmer
Is it as good as the Bottled-in-Bond? Frey Ranch was kind enough to provide me with a sample in exchange for my no-strings-attached, honest review, and I happen to have some of the Bottled-in-Bond left to do a head-to-head comparison. Let’s #DrinkCurious and find out!
- Whiskey Type: American Rye
- Distiller: Frey Ranch Farmers + Distillers
- Age: 6 years
- Mashbill: 100% Canadian Winter Rye
- Cooperage: New, 53-gallon charred oak barrels
- Alcohol Content: 62.26% ABV (124.52°)
- Price per 750mL: $79.99
- Batch 16
- Non-Chill Filtered
Appearance: I used
a Glencairn glass to explore this Rye neat. It presented as a honey amber color;
a medium rim formed crazed, medium-thick tears.
Nose: I gave
Frey Ranch my 15-minute cursory wait for it to oxidize. As I approached the aroma,
even before I could get the glass beneath my nose, there was a big whiff of
sassafrass. Then, I smelled butterscotch (isn’t this a Rye?), cinnamon
sugar, floral rye, and a kiss of cedar. Inhaling the vapor through my lips
exposed me to dry oak.
Palate: Frey
Ranch’s mouthfeel was viscous yet somewhat arid. There was a palate shock of fennel.
With the second sip, I found more fennel, although far less pronounced, along
with white grapefruit and candied ginger on the front. The middle offered mint,
dill, and tobacco. On the back, I tasted roasted coffee, rye spice, and older
oak.
Finish: BOOM.
Black pepper came out of nowhere, followed by cinnamon Red Hots, mint, rye
spice, oak, and bold ginger. It spiked in intensity and fell off almost as
quickly, then gently rolled away until it finally disappeared at 1:36, making
it longer.
Bottle, Bar, or Bust: First
and foremost, I promised to say how it compares to the Bottled-in-Bond.
Beginning with the nose, both the Bonded and Uncut expressions were sweet – the
latter intensely so. The Bonded had a velvety texture while the Uncut had a
thick viscosity. There was so little sweetness that I found on the Uncut’s
palate, while the Bottled-in-Bond possessed notes of agave and caramel.
And now, for my rating: While the Uncut version didn’t smell like any American Rye I’ve had, the palate was far more recognizable. It was very ying-yangish with sweet notes competing with spice. I was taken aback at how dry this sipping experience was, and that spicy finish; dang, it went from dynamite to just under nuclear! Yet, it didn’t approach its stated proof; it drank far closer to something about 110°.
Between the Bottled-in-Bond
and Uncut, I believe the former edges out the latter. However, it still earns
my Bottle rating. Cheers!
My Simple, Easy-to-Understand
Rating System
- Bottle = Buy It
- Bar = Try It
- Bust = Leave It
Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit,
but begs you to do so responsibly.
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