My latest article for The Bulletin, which published this week, evaluates Black Butte Whiskey, the collaboration from Deschutes Brewery and Bendistillery (from which I’d received samples). Since I normally write about beer for the paper, aside from the obvious beer tie-in of BBW being distilled from a Black Butte Porter wash, I also paired up the whiskey with BBP for a boilermaker experience.

I found the regular whiskey to have a warming nose of vanilla, honey and oak, with a bit of booziness but otherwise smooth. It’s a bit malty, with toasted grains, vanilla bean, a touch of cedar and a hint of smoke.

Black Butte Porter has the comforting, familiar flavors of dark malts with a touch of roast, and some caramelized sugar sweetness. When pairing with the whiskey, sipping the liquor and following with a sip of the beer, the porter softened the heat from the spirit and emphasized a honey malt sweetness.

The whiskey similarly tempered the roastiness of the porter with a bit of oaky vanilla and drew out flavors of coffee and dark chocolate. The chocolate lingered into the finish, and when sipping side by side there did seem to be a detectable core essence shared by the two beverages, with Black Butte Porter character identifiable in the Black Butte Whiskey.

And there’s a bonus boilermaker pairing featured as well—the cask strength whiskey sample with a bottle of the brewery’s first edition of Black Butte³, imperial Black Butte Porter aged in Black Butte Whiskey casks, from 2015. Read the article for my thoughts on how the beer held up and tasted with the spirit.