Dry Fly Washington Wheat Review

Picture from "The Manual"

“Bread and Butter”

Country: USA

Brand: Dry Fly Washington Wheat Batch #41

Type: American Whiskey - 100% Wheat 

Age: NAS (Said To Be: At Least 2 Years)

ABV: 40%

Sample provided by Derek from the USA. Many Thanks!

Colour: Light Golden Amber

Nose: Light but interesting. Different from your usual Bourbon Nose. I find Sweet Grain, Puff Pastry prepared with full Cream Butter, Butterscotch, Toffee, Nectarine, Orange, Banana, Coconut, Syrup, light Vanilla, Hay, lightly Charred New Oak, light Varnish and light Mint. The Alcohol is not fully integrated.

Taste: On the Palate, the short Wood contact and the low ABV start to tell their limited stories. It's not as "neutral" as Gin or Vodka but it doesn't present us with a lot of Flavour as well. You can compare it with some of the younger Whiskies from say France, Belgium or the Alpine countries. With some effort I find Bread and Yeast tones, Wheat Biscuits, light Licorice, Pepper, Orange Peel, Toffee, Nuts, Young Oak and Menthol. The Alcohol is quite present. 

Finish: Middle-Long with Lightly Charred Oak, Toffee, Pepper, Cinnamon, Grass, Menthol and Alcohol. Still, the Finish does invite you to have another sip!  

With a bit of Water you will find more Bread, Biscuits and Dried Fruits on the Nose. But on the Palate it becomes more of a Spicy Fruit-Flavoured Vodka. The Finish gets a bit more Citrus, Toffee and Vanilla. You can certainly experiment with a few drops.

Rating: 80 

Nose: 21.5 – Taste: 18.5 – Finish: 20 – Overall: 20

Derek's Bottle and the Sample!

General Remarks: Dry Fly is a craft distillery located just outside Spokane in the state of Washington. It was founded in 2007 and is owned and operated by 2 fly- fishing pals, Kent Fleischmann & Don Poffenroth. The Christian Carl Pot Stills from Goppingen Germany produce Gin, Whiskey, Vodka and Bourbon. The total current annual output is small at around 150.000 bottles. The Soft Winter Wheat is bought from small local sustainable producers. Dry Fly Wheat matured for around 2 years in new Medium-Charred American White Oak Casks from the Bluegrass Cooperage in Tennessee. It's mostly available in the native State for the time being and costs around 50 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: Does anyone remember the Hit Single "Bread and Butter" released by the American group the Newbeats in 1964. It went all the way to # 2 in the Billboard Top 100. I had to think of this song when Nosing and Tasting the Dry Fly Washington Wheat. Bread, Dough, Wheat Biscuits, Butter, Butterscotch and Toffee are all over the place, especially on the light but pleasant Nose. 2 Years however is not enough to extricate lots of Flavours from the Cask and the low ABV does not help out either. The Finish is not overly long but effective. All in all an interesting experiment that has my full support. I would love to Nose and Taste a 6 Year old Dry Fly Washington Wheat with an ABV of around 46%. I do hope Fleischmann & Poffenroth will get to this stage. Good Luck! 

Jan van den Ende                                                            October 21, 2014

Seagram's Seven Crown Review

Country: USA

Brand: Seagram’s Seven Crown

Type: Blended American Whiskey

Age: NAS (Probably 3-4 years)

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Golden

Nose: The harsh Alcohol does not come as a surprise anymore. Almost all young (grain) whiskies suffer from that. It’s difficult to get anything else at first. In this case unfortunately there hardly is anything of importance in the first place. After a while I get some (Charred) Wood, Vanilla, Rubber, Paint Thinner, Margarine, Maple Syrup and cheap Sweet Apricot Marmalade. You will have to Nose this dram from various angles, not forgetting the edge of the glass. In the middle of the glass you will mostly get young Wood and harsh Alcohol.

Taste: Thin and Sugary Sweet with an immediate Alcohol Attack. It tastes more like rubbing Alcohol or cheap Gin than Whiskey. In the background some toast with Margarine and the Apricot Marmalade from the Nose.

Finish: Harsh, Sugary Sweet and not at all pleasant. Thank God it’s very short!

I added a couple of drops of Water and that helps suppressing the harsh Alcohol. The Apricot and Margarine become a bit more present. The Nose certainly benefits from a few drops. On the Palate it all mellows down a bit as well. The Finish remains non-existent and off-putting. If you must drink this neat, than I advise you to add a few drops of water.

Rating: 68 

Nose: 18 – Taste: 17 – Finish: 16 – Overall: 17

General Remarks: Seagram’s Seven Crown was originally a Canadian Whisky Brand that was very popular all around the world in the late Sixties and Seventies until Vodka and Rum took over. The American Soldiers in Vietnam mixed it with Seven-Up and called it 7&7. Seagram’s beverage division was bought in 2000 by Diageo, Pernod-Ricard and Coca Cola. Today, the Seven Crown or Seven as it’s also called is blended and bottled by the Seven Crown Distilling Company, Norwalk (CT), part of the Diageo Group. It’s a Blend of American Whiskeys, a spirit produced by law in the USA from a fermented mash of Cereal Grain(s). The whiskies used in this Blend aged in new – and used charred White Oak Barrels. Oh yes, it costs around US$ 13 a bottle and the name Seven Crown refers to the seven crowns on the label!

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Average

Conclusion: Although the Nose is not really horrible once you are able to trick out the wafts of Alcohol, this whiskey is not good enough to drink neat. It does not provide any pleasure whatsoever. The American soldiers in Vietnam were right about this stuff. The only thing sensible to do is to drown it in 7-Up. Or something like that!

Jan van den Ende                                                              October 11, 2012