Review #37: 2bar Spirits Bourbon

We showed up to this distillery soaking wet, after running through the Seattle rain from Westland Distillery. 2bar didn’t look very far on the map, but in the rain, it felt like miles. We got there as it was closing up shop, but the owner Nathan was still there with his dog and allowed us a whirlwind tour of the small distillery.

It was an excellent time, but we kind of bought the whisky because a) we were there, b) we felt bad for making Nathan stay there, and c) we had just tried a copious amount of Westland spirits – so any and all whisky tasted amazing. Since then, we have brought it back and mostly used it in cocktails instead of spending some quality time with the bourbon. For example, I used it in the fantastic aperol/bourbon write-up on the Exene cocktail, which I highly recommend. In some other cocktails, however, I have found it a bit too “oaky” to balance it.

Come bottle-kill time, we decided to review it. During our tasting, we deeply regretted that we didn’t spend more time sipping it neat because it surprised us how much we enjoyed it.

Additional Information

• ABV: 50%
• Mash bill: “Northwest Grains” which includes 95% Washington grain and 5% Oregon grain (note: Nathan mentioned he worked closely with Westland, which famously incorporates chocolate malt, and we both remember him mentioning chocolate malt to us when we said it tasted “chocolate-y”)
• Age: 2 years

About 2bar

• They are now changing over to “age statement” on their bourbons and they will be releasing a limited release (as of April 2019) of a Amaretto aged bourbon
• Started in 2012 and named after the family ranch in Texas
• Their distillery dog is named Galt and knows how to “wait” for treats (see slow-mo video I took below). He is also their “VP of Corporate Morale”