Cinnamon bun | Light anise | Gingerbread | Pretzel dough | Rich & unique

Grape jelly | Steeped tea | Frosted Flakes cereal | Medium body

Milk chocolate | Apple peel | Slight leather on the backend | Lingering warmth

Bird Creek Whiskey was founded by Mark Stell in 2017, who is also behind Portland Coffee Roasters. The company’s name is based on Bird Creek Meadows Loop, a popular hiking trail that is located about 100 miles northeast at the foothills of Mount Adams. The Pacific Northwest has become a hotbed of single malt whiskey distillation thanks to its cool climate, which is ideal for growing malted barley. Bird Creek uses an array of regional and heritage barley varieties. The company’s bespoke bottle includes a working compass bottle topper, and the base of the bottle is a three-dimensional mold of Mount Adams, which produces a quite striking visual when holding the bottle.

Bird Creek Distillery has gone all-in on the American single malt whiskey category, a growing type of whiskey in the United States that was recently ratified into law as an official spirits category, which is big news for the American spirits industry. Bird Creek Distillery identifies its main releases by the barley type, which currently includes Baronesse, Francin, Full Pint, Purple Egyptian, and Scots Bere (available in 2025).

This release combines the brand’s Baronesse and Full Pint barleys, and notably was distilled in California as opposed to in-house by Bird Creek Distillery. The whiskey is a full-flavored affair, which is especially notable at its 92 proof point. It has a great backbone, with an obvious malted barley mashbill that includes pretzel dough, steeped tea, Frosted Flakes cereal, and milk chocolate in its flavor profile. In its current form, it’s a nicely done American single malt. But given some additional aging time I think Bird Creek Distillery will be able to really dial the in this whiskey’s flavor profile making it more complex and engaging.