Rogue Ales & Spirits is launching the Single Barrel Project whiskey series, a limited-series of one-off single barrels of Rogue whiskey that have been finished in unique ways. Rogue is the only farmer-brewer-distiller-cooper in the U.S. and because of this, Rogue is able to handcraft innovative products such as this Single Barrel Project at its headquarters in Newport, Ore.
“After opening our Rolling Thunder Barrel Works cooperage in 2015, we became fascinated with exploring the impact that different types of wood impressed on the flavor, aroma and taste of our whiskeys,” says Jake Holshue, Rogue Spirits Head Distiller. “We created Single Barrel Project as our way to explore that curiosity through finishing Rogue whiskey in unique barrels and uncommon wood varietals, oftentimes in a non-replicable way, and always one barrel at a time.”
Rogue will release four Single Barrel Project whiskeys per year. The first edition in the Single Barrel Project series, which is currently being released, is a 6.5-year-old Rogue Single Malt Whiskey finished in Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels from Washington. Barrel Two will be released in January 2021 and is an eight-year-old Oregon Rye Malt Whiskey finished in a second use Zinfandel barrel and Barrel Three, released in March 2021, is Oregon Single Malt Whiskey finished in a Rogue Rolling Thunder Barrel Works Cherry Wood barrel. Barrel Four will be released later in 2021.
“At Rogue, we are always looking for new ways to create and innovate,” says Steve Garrett, vp-business development. “We like to push the boundaries and see what we can come up with. This mentality pushed us to experiment with different woods from our backyard in the Pacific Northwest and our very own cooperage. By doing so, we were able to create something special with the Single Barrel Project and are excited to share these one-of-a-kind whiskeys with our fans.”