Roughstock Montana Whiskey

[IowaJeff]

I recently opened a bottle of Roughstock. The bottle I got is barrel proof at approximately 126. It is another in an ever increasing line of very young American single malts. I don't have it in front of me, but it was aged for a very short period of time in new charred oak.

Roughstock has a good flavor and shows some promise. It quenches my occasional hankerin for that smoky, earthy, single malt flavor. It is not nearly as good as Stranahan's, which has layers of sweet, bourbony, banana bready flavors on top of the single malt flavor. Roughstock is more one-note and stripped down than Stranahan's.

I've had quite a few young 'craft' distillery products and overall I tend to enjoy the young single malts much better, despite my usual strong preference for bourbon. A single malt in a new barrel presents flavors unique from bourbon and scotch. Roughstock is a good, not great, example of this. With a bit more time in the barrel it could turn into something special though.

[silverfish]

RoughStock Distillery

According to David Driscoll at K&L, this is a 100% wheat mash whiskey.

Has anyone else tried this 90 proofer and care to comment on how it

stacks up against other wheaters?

Further searching shows a 124.2 proof version (assuming the sellers

website is accurate.)

[IowaJeff]

I think the wheat one is a special release or a new product from them. The bottle I had was definitely not wheat. I'd like to give the wheat variety a try though. From the little I know about Roughstock, it appears that they are doing it the right way-making it themselves, local ingredients, experimentation.

[cowdery]

"Wheater" is what we call wheated bourbon. Let's not start using it to mean wheat whiskey white dog, or whatever this is. (Website not much help.)

[David D]

I put a picture of the bottle up on the blog. Proof is 90.

http://spiritsjournal.klwines.com/klwinescom-spirits-blog/2011/2/16/wacky-wednesday-tastings.html

[Lost Pollito]

These will be open at the chicago get together.:grin:

[cowdery]

"Wheat Mash Whiskey" suggests light aging in used barrels. I assume there's no age statement, formal or informal.

[IowaJeff]

I'll check my bottle of the 'regular' Roughstock when I get home. I want to say it was aged for 8 months or something like that. I don't know if that will be the same for the wheat Roughstock though.

[silverfish]

"Wheater" is what we call wheated bourbon. Let's not start using it to mean wheat whiskey white dog, or whatever this is. (Website not much help.)

[cowdery]

Didn't mean to imply this was a "wheater" but rather wondered

how it tasted compared with "real" wheaters (Wellers, MM, etc.)

That's my point. Wheat whiskey and wheated bourbon ('wheater') are completely different animals.

[silverfish]

That's my point. Wheat whiskey and wheated bourbon ('wheater') are completely different animals.

Ah, gotcha.......

[mtwhiskey]

Thank you for trying our whiskeys!

For a point of clarification, our wheat mash whiskey is a 100% wheat whiskey made with hard white spring wheat grown just up the road from our distillery. It is then aged in our freshly emptied malt casks. It is NOT a wheated bourbon or a "white dog".

Our original "Montana Whiskey" is 100% malted barley mash bill (again, grown and malted not far from our distillery) and aged in virgin toasted and charred American oak.

I hope I can answer any more questions you may have as, obviously, these descriptions are just the tip of the iceberg.

[squire]

Welcome MT (Montana I assume) and yes, more details would be appreciated. Any information you wish to share on the steps necessary to convert your 100% wheat mash into a fermentable low wine, proof of the liquor coming off the still, final proof at barrel entry, type and size of barrel, time in barrel prior to bottling, or anything else as general or specific as you like.

[cowdery]

To expand, are you malting some or all of the wheat, using wheat malt from a maltster, or using non-endogenous enzymes?

Is "wheat mash whiskey" your official TTB designation, since the whiskey is aged in used barrels?

How long is your wheat mash whiskey aged? If you don't want to be specific, how about a neighborhood.

[mtwhiskey]

Wheat mash whiskey is the COLA/TTB definition. Fermented and distilled on the grains.

Exogenous enzymes are used to keep a 100% single grain mash bill.

It's distilled below 150.

BEP varies as we like to experiment with that depending on barrel size and aging time, but under 125 and over 90.

Type/size is 15,30, & 53 gal once used (for our malt) northern American white oak.

This strain of wheat (hard white spring wheat - prairie gold) has a higher protein content and a (very) slight amount of tannic acid present giving much more definition/character right off the still. Very floral and honeycomb-like. It's then lightly aged in used malt casks to maintain as much of the original light/sweet character of the grain without heavy oak influences.

With all of that being said it is a very forgiving and enjoyable lighter whiskey. We created this to be an "everyday" whiskey: good neat, rocks, or mixed without growing too heavy on flavor after prolonged indulgence.

[cowdery]

If you are using exogenous enzymes and a 100% single grain wheat mash bill then are you using wheat malt or enzymes extracted from wheat malt?

[squire]

Thanks for the response MT.