Terriblemuse
Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon
Bourbon — Nevada, USA
Reviewed
May 23, 2021 (edited November 17, 2021)
Ups and downs. More ups than downs.
Sawdust and green apple rind on the nose, honeycomb and cotton candy on the front and mid tongue with a hint of mint toward the back, and what I would call an above-average finish for its proof/age with more of the same flavor combine, mint as the featured player.
Some sips have come with a harsh toothpaste flavor at the conclusion of the palate sliding into the finish. Not entirely as unappealing as it sounds... but also not entirely appealing, either.
Overall, the bottle averages to a solid sip, better, I find, than most craft bourbons out there (cough*woodinville*cough -- cough-cough*it’s fine, check it out for yourself*cough-cough-hack), and one I enjoy coming back to on the regular (pro-amateur tip: don’t sip it after a more established bourbon like Eagle Rare). Might try a couple other crafts before coming back to this, but it’s definitely staying firmly in the mental rotation.
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@BobboNJ - tough question. For context: I’m hard on Woodinville mostly because of what I feel is overhype, but it’s not really bad, exactly. Like most craft, it mostly just doesn’t have the age to stand up to the big boys, but unlike Frey Ranch, I also didn’t think the small batch bottle had any seriously distinguishing factors in its flavor profile that demanded my repeat attention. Frey Ranch, on the other hand, I found to be somewhat like Lee Sinclair from French Lick: a distinctive grain-forward profile, a nice showcase of the alternative flavors that craft distillers provide when the big guys can’t/don’t, and thus a nice balance to the flavor profiles of the other bottles in my collection. So if you’re looking to fill a craft bottle spot on your shelf, I think you could do a million times worse than FR. At $60, that’s pretty much the going rate, both for this and most distiller-produced (non-sourced) craft bottles, and you likely won’t be disappointed - or at least no more so than you would from any craft product. You could also check out French Lick and Wilderness Trail, if you haven’t already. But if you’re looking to just buy one bottle, let’s be honest: you can get what is at least arguably a better (or, failing that, more classically profiled) product from a mass distillery for as much as a third of the price - i.e. Elijah Craig, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey 101. Or, for roughly (hopefully!) the same price: Four Roses SBS, Knob Creek 12, Old Forester 1920. All just depends on what you’re looking for. Hope that gives some context and food for thought! I’d be curious what you decided to do.
I found this going for $60 and I’m from Jersey..read your comment on Woodinville..that bad? Surprised at low rating of 85 for TR. wondering if I should pull the trigger…