Bull Run Distilling Single Malt Whiskey Cask Strength

Bull Run Distilling, in Portland, Oregon was founded by former brewer Lee Medoff. The Cask Strength Single Malt was launched in 2016 with a 4 year age statement, while their Single Malt product now carries a 5 year age statement. Just a note for anyone not familiar, the "age statement" of a spirit indicates the age of the youngest spirit in the product; a 25 year and a 2 year spirit, when blended together, are 2 years old. Bull Run produce a range of products including an Aquavit and a barrel-aged Vodka. Nearby Burnside Brewing produces wash for the distillery, which places them somewhere on the grain-to-glass spectrum. This, along with their practice of fermenting the wash hot (relatively speaking, at least 80°F) lend their malt a good amount of character. Ester and phenol formation during fermentation are eventually mirrored in the final product, yielding notes of tropical fruit and clove. Medoff has at least 20 years of distilling experience to his name—hardly an amateur operation—and the Single Malt reflects a composure often lacking in the American craft whiskey scene.

The single malt pours golden amber, with bright yellow highlights. It leads with a syrupy, thick nose; layered with unctuous dark chocolate fudge, notes of wine and brandy (as touted repeatedly in marketing materials), leading into a strong finish of toasted walnuts and dried cranberries. When you get the spirit on your palate it reveals deep tannic oak, with an almost rye-like bitter but minty finish. There's a strong presence of marijuana with an earthy, herbal character dominating the mid palate, fading into an odd, oily note, almost castor oil. Mid-palate and finish aside, it's what you'd expect from a 4 year american craft malt bottled at cask strength—it's bordering on over-extracted but with enough interesting and unusual highlights in the nose and palate to make it fun. I don't think that the oiliness is appropriate for a single malt style, and I don't find it desirable, personally, but I don't find it so off-putting that I wouldn't recommend tasting it.

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