Rogue Introduces First-of-its-Kind Stouted Whiskey

From Rogue:

Newport, Ore. (January 17, 2016)—From Rolling Thunder Barrel Works, Rogue’s Newport-based cooperage (barrel-making facility), comes the return of Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout and the new Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey. A first-of-its-kind stouted American Single Malt whiskey, Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey is the culmination of all things DIY from Rogue.

Rogue Cooper Nate Linquist charring a barrel at Rolling Thunder Barrel Works in Newport, Ore.

Released each February, Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout is aged in whiskey-soaked barrels that are made at Rogue’s Rolling Thunder Barrel Works. Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey takes it a step further:

1. Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey starts with barley grown and harvested at Rogue Farms
2. That barley is brewed into wash and distilled into whiskey
3. While Master Distiller Brian Pribyl is distilling the whiskey, Rogue cooper (barrel-maker) Nate Linquist makes a barrel out of Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana)
4. The whiskey is aged one year in these Rolling Thunder Barrel Works barrels.
   Towards the end of that aging period, Brewmaster John Maier brews his imperial stout.
5. Brian’s whiskey is then transferred to new barrels and John’s imperial stout is transferred to the whiskey-soaked barrels. After nine months, the beer is pulled and released as Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout.
6. The original whiskey is put back into the whiskey- and stout-soaked barrels for an additional two years of aging.
7. Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey, the final product of all this hard work and time is hand-bottled in hand-numbered bottles and topped with a hand-branded topper.

The Rolling Thunder family of products is what sets Rogue apart from other craft breweries and distilleries. “As the only farmer-brewer-distiller-cooper in the world, we are the only company who can create Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey completely in house,” says Rogue President Dharma Tamm. “We grow ingredients we use to brew and distill and make the barrels we age those products in. As Rogues, we are excited by the possibility of creating things by hand that no one has the patience to do.”

Opening with subtle aromas of smoke and sea air, Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey has notes of dark cocoa, toffee and dried fruit and a coffee and grain finish.
This year, Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout features prominent notes of chocolate and coffee that complement the flavors of whiskey-soaked Oregon Oak.
Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey is available in limited quantities nationally in hand-numbered 750ml bottles.
Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout is available in limited quantities nationally in hand-numbered, 500ml (16.9 ounce) bottles. Use the Rogue Finder to find it near you.
For more information, samples and photography, contact Rachel Morrison.

About Rogue Ales & Spirits

Rogue Ales & Spirits, the only farmer-brewer-distiller-cooper in the United States, was founded in Oregon in 1988 as one of America’s first microbreweries. Rogue has won more than 1,900 awards for taste, quality and packaging, and is available in all 50 states as well as 54 countries. Proudly rooted in Oregon soil, Rogue’s beers, spirits and sodas are made with ingredients grown on Rogue Farms in Independence, Oregon. Rogue Spirits are hand-distilled on a 550-gallon still in Newport, Oregon, aged in the thick ocean air of the Yaquina Bay and bottled by hand. Since 2008, Rogue has shared the terroir of Oregon by growing its own hops, barley, rye, wheat, honey, cucumbers and pumpkins and using them in beers.