When we first formed the Seattle Chapter, one of the three distilleries we visited was Fremont Mischief Distillery, which is primarily a rye distillery, although it also produces a bourbon, you’ll find tasting notes for that in my post on the Seattle Chapter of the Whiskey Mafia.
Among the offerings I didn’t get to try that day was their Storm Tossed Rye, a rye that has been aged on one of two fishing vessels working in the Behring Sea. Personally I’ve looked at products like this as something of a gimmick, but as I’ve tried more and more whiskies from around the country and beyond, I’ve learned that where and how a whiskey is aged matters a lot to the flavors and aromas of the final product, so I’ve been coming around to the idea that there might be something in it.
When my son, Collin brought a bottle home for Christmas, I figured it was time to put the theory to the test, comparing Fremont Mischief Storm Tossed Rye with the distillery’s straight rye product. I’ll get to my notes in a minute, but suffice to say, yeah, this aged at sea thing is the real deal. There is a pronounced difference between the two spirits in terms of complexity of flavor, color, and the the intensity of ethanol burn.
Fremont Mischief Straight Rye vs. Fremont Mischief Storm Tossed Rye Tasting Notes
Freemont Mischief Storm-Tossed Rye F/V Brenna A - Mash Bill: 85% rye, 15% malted barley. NAS. 100 Proof.
Color: Medium amber
Nose: Honey, rye grain, cinnamon and green apples
Palate: Honey, vanilla, fresh baked bread, baking spices
Finish: Wintergreen, pepper, long but easy hug
Freemont Mischief Straight Rye - Mash bill: 85% "Gazelle" rye, 15% "Pilot" malted barley. NAS but aged at least two years in
Bespoke barrels.
Color: Honey
Nose: Honey, rye grain, citrus
Palate: Moderate ethanol burn, honey, rye bread, pepper
Finish: Rye bread and pepper. Shorter, more intense hug
Overall, the Storm-tossed rye has a darker color and a mellower flavor. (I shouldn't, but I'll say it: it's "smoother.") It also has more notes of cinnamon and nutmeg on both the nose and the palate, and the hints of fresh bread / yeast are more pronounced. The Storm-Tossed Rye is a really exceptional pour and one of my favorite ryes in my collection today.
Visiting Fremont Mischief Distillery
If you're in the Seattle area, I'd recommend a swing through Fremont to visit Fremont Mischief. In addition to the distillery tasting room and bottle shop, there is a full bar and restaurant onsite, which I didn't get to try when we were there. Even though we didn't sit for tapas, I must say there were some amazing smells coming from the smoker when we walked in to the distillery. The staff in the tasting room was very knowledgeable and pleasant to talk to, and we enjoyed the time.
While you're there, you can even get your picture taken with a Storm-Tossed Rye backdrop, which we did, because why not? For more info on our visit to Freemont Mischief and two other Seattle Distilleries last year, you can check out my post of the
Seattle Chapter of the Whiskey Mafia.
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