Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey Review
By Richard Thomas
Rating: B-
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
Underscoring the intimate connection between beer and whiskey, especially malt whiskey, is the rise of the “brewstillery,” or the folks who run a brewery and a distillery under the same roof. Some brewstilleries, especially those making corn-heavy bourbon, are mostly about sharing hardware and barrels, since there aren’t too many beers out there that are brewed using maize. Others, however, make whiskey out the same stuff they use to make their beer.
An early entrant into that category was Oregon’s Rogue Ales, known nationally for their Dead Guy Ale. Seven years ago they took the wort from Dead Guy Ale, which uses some malted barley grown on their own farm, fermented it with distiller’s yeast and distilled it instead of brewing it. From there it is aged in new white oak and bottled at 80 proof.
Whiskey made from beer is catching on nowadays, and this is a granddaddy in the category. Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey has, in fact, been around so long that it already has one repackaging under it’s belt. It was originally served up in a bottle reminiscent of its beer origins, but now Rogue Ales has a trio of whiskeys, and those now all come the heavy, squared glass bottles you see depicted here.
The Whiskey
As a young American Malt aged in new white oak, Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey has a golden look in the glass, akin to a darker white wine. The swish and coat leaves a curtain of forking, leaf-vein style tears over the glass.
I found the scent a light one, and fairly straight forward: grassy cereals mingled with a dab of honey and a pinch of orange zest. The flavor was a bit of a surprise coming from there, because the malty honey and vanilla note were joined by a nuttiness that reminded me of smoked almonds. The finish delivers more of the same, but sweeter and less nutty and smoky, and you get a real handle on that because it takes its time in fading away.
Dead Guy Ale makes for a pretty decent American Malt, as it turns out. It’s youthful, but not harsh, and while I would not call it sophisticated, it’s certainly not one-dimensional. Dead Guy Whiskey makes for some simple, flavorful, easy drinking.
The Price
Expect to pay about $43 a bottle for this item.
While it may not be one dimensional, whatever dimension it came from is unpleasant. Nail polish remover and playdoh on the nose. So many other whiskeys in this price range, this one was not for me. I do like the packaging Ann concept, though!
Amen to that, it’s the nastiest tasting stuff ive ever drank
Maybe a bad batch went out?
I’m not a pro taster but my bottle was a nice and easy malty caramel yum-fest.
The new barrels do a good job mellowing this out. Bottles to small. That’s my only ding.
My wife picked up a bottle of Dead Guy whisky as a gift for me. I don’t know what formaldehyde taste like, Im guessing they used/used formaldehyde to make it. Nasty!
I have been a Dead Guy Ail drinker for a while. It is one of my favorites. While in West Yellowstone I found Dead Guy Whisky in the supermarket. I had to try it. I love it! It is smooth and tasty. I also love the bottle. It is a keeper for my little bar at home. Good Job! You have a winner. I hope it is available in SW Washington when we get back in that direction.
Late coming to this review, and I kinda wish I had seen it first. It’s a smooth whiskey with almost no burn before or after going down. I’ll give it that. But the folks mentioning the unpleasant hit to the nose aren’t kidding. It’s a very, very young juice, and the word “chemical” came to mind the moment my giftee popped the cool dead guy topper. He was grateful for the booze, but we both agreed that this bottle smelled like a sour white dog, with no sense of oakiness whatsoever. Much like beer can get skunked, I wonder if this bottle did as well. Regardless, I’ll stick to my true oakey standards.
this tastes like a dumpster smells. i wouldnt recommend this to anyone.
Disgusting stuff. Bought it on a whim because of the name and packaging. Big mistake. Little or no flavor and a nasty bitter finish. Going to dump my bottle out and save the stopper.