Whiskey Bourbon vs. Straight Bourbon

The time has almost come for us to pop open our first barrel of Bad Dog Straight Bourbon. We already have our Whiskey Bourbon, but there is definitely some differences between the two!

Now some people wonder what makes bourbon a bourbon. Well, let me tell you! For bourbon to be considered bourbon it has to be produced in the US. It can not exceed 160 proof from fermented mash, it has to be at least 51% corn, and must be aged in new charred barrels.

Both our Bourbons are made from the same corn mash, aged in the same new white American oak barrels from the Barrel Mill, and stored right up on the same shelf! BUT, our Straight Bourbon is aged for at least 2 years to be called straight bourbon, where as our Whiskey Bourbon can be aged for as short as 1 year.

While both of these Bourbons have some great flavor, we can definitely say the longer aging process has pulled some sweeter, more pronounced oak notes. The Straight Bourbon has a heavier amber color as well.

We love both of these bourbons and we can't wait for you all to take a taste as well!

Straight Bourbon will be coming soon, hopefully early Fall! Our label just got approved, so exciting stuff is happening!

Cheers!

Be My Valentine Martini Recipe

Treat your special someone to a night of delicious drinks and sweet treats!

Raspberry Martini

• 10 raspberries
• 1/4 cup mint-infused simple syrup
• 1 oz cranberry juice
• 2 oz Bad Dog Vodka
• chocolate syrup for rim
• shredded dark chocolate for rim (you can use milk chocolate as well) 

Squeeze chocolate syrup onto dish big enough to dip rim in. Pour shredded chocolate onto another dish. Dip rim of martini glass into the chocolate syrup and then into the shredded chocolate. Set aside.

Put raspberries into a cocktail shaker and crush with muddler. Add simple syrup and continue muddling. Add your Bad Dog Vodka and cranberry juice. Fill shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into martini glass.

Enjoy with some chocolate drizzled strawberries!

Cheers!

Find more drink recipes here.

A Peak Inside Our Distilling Process

From grinding the grain, to distilling our liquor, everything we do here is made through passion and care.

Making Whiskey involves many steps and here at Bad Dog Distillery we pride ourselves on being a grain to glass distillery. Being grain to glass means we do everything on site from grinding our grain to bottling our spirits, hence “grain to glass”. We feel that being in control of every step is important so everyone knows exactly what is going into our alcohol.

Our first process will always begin with getting our grain of course. Staying local is very important to us so everything we use is from Washington State. Once we pick up the grain, or have it delivered, we will then store it and grind the amount needed for our next batch.

Mashing will be the next step taken, which is the process of converting the starches from grain into sugar. During this time we are very careful to keep our mash ton at specific temperature to be sure that everything comes out exactly how we want it. Once our mash is to the right consistency, we will then transfer it into what is basically a giant strainer. This process can sometimes get messy, but boy is it worth it in the end! The reason we strain the mash is to separate the wash from the solids. The solids are the leftover grain that we will send to farmers to use as feed. The wash is what will then go into our copper pot still and soon become alcohol. But first we will transfer the wash into a tote and pitch the yeast. The tote will then sit for a few days before transferring into the still.

The distilling process itself can take many hours. We watch the temperature closely for that as well. Most of what comes out of our still will go into a barrel to become either Whiskey or Bourbon. Some of it we will keep unaged and some we will use to create a flavored whiskey out of.

And our final step is to bottle! We do all our bottling here at the distillery. By hand, we will bottle, cap, seal, label, and box!

This process consists of a lot of hard work and passion.  We are very dedicated to create the highest quality product as possible for our customers to enjoy.