Rogue Ales & Spirits takes “grain to glass” to a new level. As the only farmer-brewer-distiller-cooper in the world, The Newport, Oregon-based spirits will soon release its Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout and Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey.
“With our culture of relentless curiosity comes the desire to create, innovate and do things differently,” says Bliss Dake, Rogue Ales & Spirits Vice President of Marketing. “At Rogue we come up with some wild ideas and then we make them happen. We are makers with a ‘Do It Yourself’ attitude and are always asking ‘What If?’. This ‘What If’ mentality pushed us to experiment and ultimately create something special with the Rolling Thunder family.”
One of the reasons the Rolling Thunder family is so special is because of the handmade barrels built at Rogue’s own Rolling Thunder Barrel Works. In 2015, Rogue acquired vintage French WWII-era coopering equipment and built a barreling facility. Longtime employee Nate Linquist was tapped to be Rogue’s first cooper and spent six months apprenticing, learning the ancient art of barrel making. Using Oregon Oak, Nate assembles, raises, toasts, chars, hoops, heads, hoops again, cauterizes, sands and brands each barrel, one at a time, all by hand.
The 2020 Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout was aged for 9 months in one of these handmade Rolling Thunder Barrel Works barrels previously used to age Rogue’s Dead Guy Whiskey.
Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey takes it a step further. Distilled at Rogue, it is then aged in barrels built at itss Rolling Thunder Barrel Works cooperage that had already aged Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout. This process results in a stout finished single malt whiskey that was made completely by hand.
Opening with subtle aromas of smoke and sea air, Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey has notes of dark cocoa, toffee and a coffee and grain finish. This year, Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout features prominent notes of chocolate that complement the flavors of whiskey-soaked Oregon Oak. It is big, bold and a true one-of-a-kind whiskey that bridges the gap between Single Malt and Bourbon.
Rolling Thunder Imperial Stout is available in limited quantities nationally in hand-numbered 16.9 ounce bottles. Rolling Thunder Stouted Whiskey is available in limited quantities nationally in hand-numbered 750ml bottles. Both will be available in February
