Frey Ranch Distillery, the farm-to-glass whiskey maker based in Fallon, Nevada, has announced the third release in its Harvester Series, and the headline ingredient is a grain you’d usually find in a feed trough.
The new grain is triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye that’s grown mainly as livestock feed, with side jobs as a cover crop and a biomass crop.
For some context, Frey Ranch is one of the most interesting distilleries in the American West, and their annual Harvester Series has always been incredibly in-demand. This one, the Third Harvest, is a 123.4-proof American whiskey blending barrels aged five to eight years, all made from grains grown on the Frey family’s farm.
Frey has never been afraid to take swings (take a look at that hazmat ABV, for example), so putting triticale in 26.66 percent of the blend is totally something they’d try. The rest is 36.14 percent corn, 27.92 percent rye, 4.80 percent malted barley, and 4.48 percent wheat, in case you were curious.
While everyone chases new barrels, Frey Ranch is chasing a new grain
It’s been a big year for whiskey finishing: new woods, new casks, new ways to say “we tried something.” Frey Ranch is working the other end of the process.
The Harvester Series puts the grains up front. First Harvest centered on rye, Second Harvest on wheat, and now comes a cross of the two. Triticale isn’t a great bread grain, since its gluten network is weaker than wheat’s, but Frey Ranch says it works for whiskey, bringing rye’s pepper and wheat’s soft sweetness.
The proof has ticked up with each release (121.14, 122.44, now 123.4), and this year, so has the price, from $249.99 to $299.99.
Even if you want to pay that amount, you won’t be the only one. First Harvest reportedly sold out online in 17 minutes and from the tasting room in under an hour.
This time, the first bottles go to members of Frey’s 500-seat, $999 Tractor Tailgate Club in November, and the membership fee includes the whiskey. A very limited number then go to an online lottery, and Frey Ranch doesn’t say how many bottles that is. In the world of American craft whiskey, a fresh grain just gets people going.
Where to buy it
Frey Ranch Harvester Series: Third Harvest has an SRP of $299.99, though resale for the other Harvesters has often been higher. Bottles go first to Tractor Tailgate Club members in November, with additional bottles at the Fallon, Nevada tasting room starting Saturday, November 7, from noon to 4 PM PT.
An online lottery runs November 16 at 10 AM PT through November 23 at midnight, with winners announced the week of November 23.
