Frey Ranch awarded 8 medals for its whiskeys

Colby Frey shows a bottle of the Frey Ranch bourbon and barrels of aging whiskey at his distillery south of Fallon. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition recently awarded Frey Ranch Distillery eight medals including two double golds.
Photo by Steve Ranson.

By Steve Ranson

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

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For the past decade, the Frey Ranch Distillery has been the pride of the Lahontan Valley.

Now, the Freys are the Toast of Nevada — and possibly the entire globe — after capturing eight medals for whiskeys at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the most influential spirits competition in the universe.

Distiller Colby Frey said the distillery captured three double gold, one gold and four silver awards for their bourbon and rye whiskey. He was particularly excited about the two double gold awards. Several years ago, Frey Ranch captured a double gold for its gin.

“We were eight for eight,” Frey smiled, referring to the latest competition. “Judges fly from all over the world to taste, and each judge awards a gold, silver or bronze.”

To receive a double gold, however, all 35 judges must be in agreement.

“It’s a huge honor. Every one of the judges rated it as gold,” he said.

Steve Ranson / LVN
Since its rollout, the Frey Ranch straight bourbon whiskey has been widely distributed in both California and Nevada.

The double-gold winners were the Frey Ranch Single Barrel Bourbon #22 (22^nd barrel made) and the Frey Ranch bottled-in-bond Rye Whiskey Batch #1 and the distillery’s Single Barrel Bourbon #420.

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition began 21 years ago to determine and award exceptional products in the spirits industry. The recognition and awards remains one of the most reliable and universal indications of spirits excellence. Frey said receiving an award from this competition is a recognized indicator of exceptional quality and craftsmanship. Furthermore, Frey said judges do a blind tasting to ensure equal consideration for all products and is conducted over a period of four days.

Frey was amazed with this year’s competition, which attracted more than 3,800 entries in different categories such as whiskey, tequila, vodka and brandy — to name a few.

Rolling out the whiskey has been the real labor of love for Frey and his employees. In 2013, Nevada’s first commercial estate distillery introduced its brandy and then during the following year, the Freys — Colby and his wife Ashley — rolled out the first batch of vodka at the 1,200-acre ranch 12 miles south of Fallon. The distillery sits on land which was the horse corral, and a tasting room is richly decorated with old photos and wood trim.

When the Freys debuted their brandy in 2013, it opened a new chapter for the longtime Fallon family. Frey’s true love, though, is whiskey while brandy and the various wines were first loves. The distillery has grown its own grains for its spirits, and because the concentration is now on whiskey making, the initial staples of the ranch such as the wine, brandy, gin and vodka, are now discontinued.

The Frey Ranch whiskey is shipped to business by a distributor and can be found in most area establishments. Every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., the Frey Ranch invites connoisseurs to whiskey tasting.

“I always thought of myself as a whiskey distiller,” Frey said. “We started production six years ago, but our whiskey is an average of five years old. We knew we could compete on a national level.”

The Freys launched the whiskey product in Northern Nevada in December 2019, but the timing worried the distributor.

“The distributor said that was a death sentence,” Frey said, referring to the rollout in a winter month. (But) We had product placement already in the stores.”
The distributor, though was shocked with the results, but, according to Frey he said that was the best launch he has seen in December. Two months later, the Freys’ product made its debut in Las Vegas, but they focused on both on-premise use such as the bars and restaurants and off-premise sales at the stores. Frey said more than 300 bars and restaurants offered the product.

“It was an amazing month,” Frey pointed out.

The coronavirus pandemic then threw a roadblock into the Freys’ plans. The governor closed the restaurants and bars which forced the distillery to concentrate on off-premise businesses. The Freys had gambled and won again.

“Even with COVID, we still met our sales goals,” Frey said.

At the end of 2020, Frey entered the California market, first in the northern part of the state and in February in southern California. Frey couldn’t believe the success.

“Our sales expectations in California are even greater than we thought,” he said. “We’re feeling we don’t have enough product we made five years ago.”
Frey thought for a few seconds.

“But that’s a good problem.”

Awards won:
Double Gold
- Frey Ranch Single Barrel Bourbon #22 Bourbon, NV, USA [63.19%] $85
- Frey Ranch Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey Batch #1, NV, USA [50%] $60
- Frey Ranch Single Barrel Bourbon #420, NV, USA [61.94%] $85

Gold
- Frey Ranch Bottled-in-Bond Rye Whiskey Batch #2, NV, USA [50%] $60

Silver
- Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon (Batch 2), NV, USA [45%] $50
- Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon (Batch 1), NV, USA [45%] $50
- Frey Ranch Bottled-in-Bond Rye (Batch 3), NV, USA [50%] $60
- Frey Ranch Single Barrel #174 Bourbon, NV, USA [66.06%] $85

Frey Ranch awarded 8 medals for its whiskeys

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