‘Farm-To-Glass’ Distillery Frey Ranch Enters the Red Hot American Single Malt Game With This Smoky Whiskey

On Monday, Frey Ranch announced the limited release of its American Single Malt Smoked Whiskey.

The Nevada-based “farm-to-glass” brand grows 100% of the grains used in its whiskeys’ mashbill, and the same is true for the barley in this new release. Frey Ranch co-founder and “Whiskey Farmer” Colby Frey built a smoker from scratch and smoked the grain instead of roasting it.

Frey also made his own peat from decomposed plant matter on the farm. He dehydrated it in order to smoke the whiskey to his liking, according to the brand.

“American Single Malts are having a moment, so we figured this was an opportune time to showcase our Nevada-grown and harvested barley – putting our personal stamp on it by smoking it,” said Frey in a news release from the brand. “Like everything we do at the Ranch, the team and I had some fun putting together our custom smoker – taking a few days to weld, cut and wire it to our precise specifications.”

Frey Ranch American Single Malt Smoked Whiskey costs $30 per 375-milliliter bottle and is the inaugural expression within the brand’s Smoked Series. The brand recommends pairing its American Single Malt whisky with smoked gouda, blue cheese and chocolate.

The American Single Malt category has experienced a tremendous amount of growth of late. In July 2022, the TTB Proposed a definition and standards for the category.

This definition seeks to ensure that for a whiskey to be categorized as an American Single Malt, it must host be made from 100% malted barley; distilled entirely at one distillery; mashed, distilled and matured in the U.S.; aged in oak casks no larger than 700 liters; distilled to no more than 160 proof; and bottled at at least 80 proof.

Essentially, American Single Malt is America’s version of Scotch. American single malt has been a niche category for quite some time, but recently, major brands like Jack Daniel’s and James B. Beam have hopped aboard the American Single Malt train, further evidencing that ASM is one of America’s hottest whiskey trends in a very long time.

According to the brand, the next expression set to release this year is the Frey Ranch Rye & Smoked Oat Whiskey.

Frey Ranch launched a Cask-Strength Bourbon in June, and its rye expression cracked our list of the best whiskeys we tasted in October 2023.

Frey Ranch American Single Malt Tasting Notes, Via the Brand

Nose: Campfire, huckleberry and sweet pipe tobacco.

Taste: Leather, with a viscous – yet soft – mouthfeel.

Finish: Lengthy, infused with cigarillo.

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