Bend’s Deschutes Brewery once again collaborated with Bendistillery to produce a whiskey based on the brewery’s Black Butte Porter, the aptly named Black Butte Whiskey. This third release of the specialty spirit opens to the public on Wednesday, December 5, with bottles going on sale at the Deschutes Bend and Portland Pubs, as well as at Bendistillery’s Crater Lake Spirits tasting room in downtown Bend.

Here is the press release issued today:

Deschutes Brewery and Bendistillery are pleased to announce the third annual release of their limited Black Butte Whiskey collaboration, just in time for the holidays.

Bottles of the limited 2018 batch will be available for sale to the public Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 4pm in both Bend and Portland, Oregon. In Bend, bottles will be sold at Bendistillery’s Crater Lake Spirits Downtown Tasting Room located at 1024 NW Bond Street. In Portland, bottles can be purchased from Bendistillery at the Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House at 210 NW 11th Ave. During the whiskey’s first release three years ago, bottles were available in Portland liquor stores, but bottles did not come to Portland last year.

Black Butte Whiskey pours are available year-round at both pubs, and the Portland International Airport pub. Both the Bend and Portland pubs will debut an exclusive barrel-aged Manhattan next Wednesday to celebrate the release as well.

“We are thrilled at the cult-like following this unique beer-based whiskey is gaining from both craft beer and spirits fans,” said Alan Dietrich, CEO of Bendistillery. “Customers want high quality beverages that are delicious, sharable and conversation-worthy, and I feel like that is something both Bendistillery and Deschutes Brewery are known for providing.”

Black Butte Whiskey is an American malt whiskey distilled from the wash of Deschutes Brewery’s famed Black Butte Porter beer. It is double-distilled and aged in new #4 char American oak barrels. The resulting spirit is a complex whiskey that retains the malty, chocolatey notes of Black Butte Porter and finishes with the soft, nearly sweet character that has become the hallmark of spirits made with the water from the Cascade Mountains of Central Oregon. The idea for the whiskey began nearly 20 years ago as an ongoing conversation over beers between Jim Bendis, founder of Bendistillery, and Gary Fish, founder of Deschutes Brewery.

“Black Butte Whiskey is a great example of the innovative adult beverages Bendistillery and Deschutes Brewery have been introducing to our fans since our respective openings,” said Mike Rowan, food and beverage director at Deschutes Brewery. “We’ve always been committed to exploring new ways to surprise and delight our customers.”

This is definitely a “concept” whiskey to a point; and Deschutes has extended that concept further with Black Butte³ (cubed), by aging a double-strength imperial porter version of Black Butte Porter in the used Black Butte Whiskey barrels. The brewery released its latest version of BB3 earlier this year, and I would expect another one to come out next year using the current barrels.

As for the Black Butte Whiskey — it’s an expensive one, priced at around $80 per bottle, so you’ll want to see if you can taste it first to make sure you like it.

And, a cocktail suggestion: Black Butte Boilermaker. A shot of Black Butte Whiskey with a pint of Black Butte Porter chaser. Optionally, drop the shot into the pint and drink.