Summer of Bourbon Road Trip: Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Single Cask
We are gearing up for the release of the Lost Lantern Summer of Bourbon Collection on July 26th. This special collection shows that great bourbon comes from all across the United States. To kick things off, we’re launching a virtual road trip feature to introduce you to each of the distilleries in the Collection and help get you in the mood for their whiskies. First up: Frey Ranch Distillery in Fallon, Nevada. Today’s post will focus on the distillery through the lens of the Lost Lantern Frey Ranch single cask, one of several releases from Frey Ranch that are part of the Collection.
Frey Ranch Distillery Overview
The first hand-selected single cask in the Lost Lantern Summer of Bourbon Collection comes from Frey Ranch Distillery in Northern Nevada, where Colby and Ashley Frey have converted their fifth generation family farm into one of the most exciting distilleries in the country. Committed to doing things the right way, no matter how long it takes, Frey Ranch is one of the only true estate distilleries in the U.S. All of the grains for all of the distillery’s whiskies are grown on site at the Ranch, in a uniquely arable pocket of Nevada that has been an agricultural oasis for well over a century.
Frey Ranch is truly on the vanguard of making bourbon. There are very, very few distilleries that grow all their own grain, malt all their own barley, and do absolutely everything they can in-house. Frey Ranch does. Beyond that, they waited until their whiskey was truly mature before releasing a drop. And they are operating in a climate that’s utterly different from the one traditionally associated with bourbon. But we don’t talk about Frey Ranch’s bourbon as a desert bourbon, or a high-elevation bourbon, or even as a Nevada bourbon, although it is all those things. Because their bourbon is much more specific than that: it comes from just one place, the very farm where it’s grown, right next to the distillery.
Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Bourbon Single Cask Details
Frey Ranch’s flagship bourbon is a four-grain bourbon, and (as with all their whiskies) all those grains are grown right onsite at Frey Ranch.
Bottled at cask strength, this Lost Lantern Frey Ranch single cask is intended to be the perfect introduction to Frey Ranch’s style,with a flavor profile similar to their flagship–while having the unique character and nuance of a single cask. This is in contrast to Soaring Spice, part of our Single Distillery Series, which is intended to explore a different side of Frey Ranch… but more on that another day. If you haven’t been able to get your hands on Frey Ranch before, or just can’t get enough of it, this single cask is the place to start.
Onto the details: this single cask straight bourbon whiskey was aged for 5 years in a 53-gallon barrel. It was made from 67% corn, 12% malted barley, 11% rye, and 10% wheat, all grown at Frey Ranch. It has notes of graham cracker and cardamom on the nose, with dried cherry and molasses cookie flavors on the palate and a very long finish. It has hints of earthiness, which we think of as part of Frey Ranch’s signature style. After all, this is bourbon straight from the whiskey farm!
Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Cocktail Recipe: Don’t Go Down To Reno
For our single cask bourbons this summer I wanted to explore the original cocktail. What we now know as the old fashioned used to just be called “An {insert spirit here} cocktail.” Spirit, sugar, bitters. That’s it. Some time in the 1870s people started to order more complicated cocktails and sooner or later someone got fed up with the extra stuff and said, “Give me a cocktail, you know the old-fashioned kind.” All we have to do is tweak one of those basic ingredients and we’ve got a whole new old-fashioned to explore.
Our Lost Lantern Frey Ranch single cask gives us a great chance to play around with different cocktail bitters. What is a cocktail bitter? It’s often in a little bottle, it’s highly alcoholic and well it’s bitter. Think of bitters like finishing salts in the kitchen, they can really bring a cocktail together. Do you have a couple of bottles of bitters you’ve collected that you don’t know exactly what to do with? Make some mini old fashioned and see what they do to change the whiskey? This bourbon has deep earth on the nose, corn sweetness on the palate and a serious structure. If you were going to experiment, this is a bourbon that can stand up to it. So take our basic old fashioned recipe and split it across three glasses. Angostura bitters are the tried and true cocktail bitter and what you probably have for sure. But what does crimson Peychaud’s do to the drink? Or maybe you’ve got some chocolate bitters or a tiki bitter from the last blog you followed. Give ‘em a try and see what you think.
Frey Ranch Cocktail Instructions: Don’t Go Down To Reno
.5 oz Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Single Cask
½ teaspoon simple syrup
2-3 dashes cocktail bitter of choice
- In a small glass, build one cocktail, stir with ice and enjoy.
- Then try again with a different cocktail bitter.
- And another. Responsibly of course.
-Drew Record, California State Manager
Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Food Pairing
CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN WINGS WITH CHERRY GINGER BOURBON GLAZE
These craveworthy Crispy BAKED Chicken Wings with Cherry Ginger Bourbon Glaze are made using our Frey Ranch Distillery Single Cask Bourbon. The flavors in the glaze compliment those in the bourbon and make for one zinger of a sauce! Because these are so craveworthy you can absolutely double or triple the recipe. Just remember not to crowd the skillet when baking the wings!
CRISPY BAKED CHICKEN WINGS WITH CHERRY GINGER BOURBON GLAZE
Yield: 8 wings
Time: Approx. 1 hour
Ingredients:
1.33 lb chicken flats and drummettes – patted dry
¾ cup cherry preserves
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
3 teaspoons Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Distillery Nevada Straight Bourbon Single Cask
Kosher salt
Directions:
- Place a large cast iron skillet in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Place chicken wings into the skillet. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. With tongs, flip wings and continue cooking until cooked through.
- Into a medium saucepan heat cherry preserves, ginger and pepper until warmed through. Remove from heat, mix in bourbon and season with salt to taste.
- Place wings into a large enough mixing bowl that you can easily toss them. Add desired amount of sauce. Toss to coat.
-Paula Jones, Marketing and Brand Manager
Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Music Pairing
What road trip, virtual or otherwise, would be complete without a playlist? California state manager Drew Record has curated a unique listening experience for your next trip to Frey Ranch… whether that’s across the Sierra Nevadas from California, across the arid open plains and deserts of Nevada, or just through a glass of whiskey in the comfort of your own home. Enjoy!
Lost Lantern Frey Ranch Virtual Road Trip Playlist [Spotify]
Frey Ranch Area Recommendations
For each of the distilleries in the virtual road trip, we solicited tips from the distillery team for what you should do if you decide to make your road trip not virtual and visit in person. Besides for, of course, visiting the distillery, here are some tips for a trip to Frey Ranch, straight from Ashley Frey:
“Some of our favorite activities while visiting Northern Nevada include lunch at the Slanted Porch (our favorite Farm-to-Table restaurant in Fallon), cocktails at Death & Taxes and a day trip to Lake Tahoe to see the crystal clear waters that flow through the Truckee River and make their way to the Frey Ranch.”
Having visited Frey Ranch three or four times ourselves, we wholeheartedly agree!