Tasting notes

nose

Red grape, plum and fig over sweet, slightly citrusy vanilla and a touch of oak, with dried apricot, golden raisin, toasted pecan and mulling spice

palate

Wheat and vanilla give way to syrupy grape and plum, warm currant and cherry, with brown sugar, fresh bread and a herbal hint of mint as nutmeg, clove and cinnamon rise

finish

Brief and crisp; cinnamon leads with a flare of clove, then the grape, plum and toasted grain fade

Mash bill

100% soft white wheat. This is Dry Fly's Washington wheat whiskey, made entirely from white wheat grown in eastern Washington with no corn, rye or barley in the mash, so the wheat carries the spirit on its own. Dry Fly buys its grain from family farms within 30 miles of its Spokane distillery.

Why it's craft

Dry Fly was founded in Spokane in 2007 by Don Poffenroth and a fellow fly fisherman, and it works grain to glass, buying its grain from family farms within 30 miles of the distillery. This bottle starts as its 100% Washington wheat whiskey, a style few American distillers make, and finishes in barrels that held port only days before. Since summer 2024 Caymus Vineyards, the Napa Valley winery, has held a majority stake, with Patrick Donovan as president.