While serious Bourbon lovers have been loath to embrace the craft whiskey scene in lieu of their favorite Kentucky producers, one small distiller in Nevada has captured the imagination of our entire industry over the last year. Colby Frey’s family has been growing corn in the Sierra Nevada watershed since the early 1950s, roughly 70 miles east of Reno. As the fifth generation to farm, Colby’s innovation was to install a distillery on site and begin using his family’s 2000 acres+ of land to make whiskey. Using estate-grown corn and winter rye, the Frey Ranch Bourbon made a huge splash when it came to market a few years back, with its bold, spicy flavors and romantic backstory. With all the excitement over the standard Bourbon, it didn’t take long for customers everywhere to ask: when might we see a single barrel, cask strength expression?

Well…wait no longer. Our exclusive single barrel Mission cask is here to answer that question!

After tasting through multiple samples with Colby, we settled on barrel #556: a beast of a whiskey, clocking in at 130.18 proof. Unlike many Kentucky Bourbons that lead with vanilla and oak, this Frey specimen explodes with cinnamon, mint, wood polish, and a damp forest note that quickly morphs into a spicy, peppery finish. Using the distillery's four grain mash bill—corn, rye, wheat, and barley—it's a 5+ year old phenomenon that pops in all the right places. From grain to glass, every bit of this single barrel whiskey was overseen by Colby Frey; from the grains, to the distillation, to the maturation, to the bottling.

While Scotch whiskey has already seen the rise of the farm distillery—a la Daftmill and Kilchoman—Americans have been skeptical of the concept, holding true to their industrial Bourbon classics. That being said, we think this bottle of Frey Ranch may be the game changer America has been waiting for. With its massive ABV and inherent grit, Frey Ranch whiskey may take American craft whiskey into the future by returning to its past.

-David Driscoll