Deschutes Brewery, Bendistillery partner on another Black Butte Whiskey release

Deschutes Brewery and Bendistillery announced the second release of their acclaimed Black Butte Whiskey as part of an ongoing collaboration between Deschutes and Bendistillery. It is an American malt whiskey distilled from the wash of Deschutes Brewery’s famed Black Butte Porter beer.

Bottles of the 2017 batch will be for sale only at Bendistillery’s Downtown Tasting Room and, like the 2016 release, are expected to sell out on the first day. Deschutes will be selling the 2017 edition by the glass at their Bend and Portland pubs over the course of the coming year while supplies last. It will also be available at the brewery’s new PDX Airport pub when it opens next year.

Behind the brew

Black Butte Whiskey is double distilled and aged in new #4 char new American oak barrels. The resulting spirit is a complex whiskey that retains the malty, chocolatey notes of Black Butte Porter and finishes with the soft, nearly sweet character that has become the hallmark of spirits made with the water from the Cascade Mountains of Central Oregon. The idea for the whiskey began nearly 20 years ago as an ongoing conversation over beers between Jim Bendis, founder of Bendistillery and Gary Fish, founder of Deschutes Brewery.

Here’s a Barrel-aging Q&A with Chuck Silva

“It all started when I distilled and barreled a small batch of Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter beer as an experiment,” said Bendis. “We all had forgotten about the project until we ran across that original single barrel when we moved the distillery. Tasting that spirit is what really inspired us to collaborate with Deschutes. It brings happy tears to my eyes to see how this 20-year-old dream is now a product so well received and highly anticipated.”

“This whiskey is more about an opportunity to innovate at a new level by elevating the beer and creating a very different product altogether,” said Fish. “This is what can happen when you’re having fun and not bound by convention!”