Pendleton Whiskey Review

Pendleton Whisky is a Canadian-style whisky with firm roots in the USA. It’s bottled by Hood River Distillers in Oregon, and its water is sourced from Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon.

Pendleton takes its name from a world-famous rodeo show that takes place in Oregon. (It’s still very much an event!) The rodeo first happened in 1910 and featured a strong Native American presence and traditions. Over 7,000 people showed up for the bull riding, races, and fairground games. Pendleton Whisky was created in 2003 to “celebrate the spirit of the American cowboy,” just as the famous Pendleton Round-up event does. Today, Pendleton is a major sponsor of the event and is the official spirit of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

This spirit is distilled and aged for 10 years in American Oak barrels (in Canada). It is then imported at full cask strength. It is bottled using glacier-fed spring water from Mt. Hood and then distributed by Hood River Distillers in Hood River, Oregon.

The whisky is entirely made from rye, but strangely, the label can’t say that it’s rye. This conundrum has to do with the fact that in Canada, they sometimes synonymously call rye “cereal grains.” And this doesn’t meet American standards for calling something rye. Still, Pendleton is 100 percent rye whisky, regardless of whether it can be labeled as such or not. 

Pendleton Whisky is marketed as a very smooth sipping whiskey. For some real whiskey lovers, it is arguably sometimes too smooth, with little to catch your attention. Adding ice can completely overwhelm the spirit.

Pendleton Whisky Quick Facts

• Ingredients: Rye
• Classification: Canadian Whiskey
• Proof: 80 (40 percent ABV)
• Age 10 years
• Price: $25 for 750 ml, $38 for 1.75 liter

Pendleton Whisky Tasting Notes

Appearance

Pendleton Whisky presents itself in the bottle as a dark, copper color, like dark honey. It’s about the same color as a Johnny Walker Black Label and significantly darker than a JW Blue Label, just as a point of reference. Pour this whisky into a beautiful Glencairn glass to appreciate the color.

Nose

Unsurprisingly, this whisky tastes as sweet as it looks in the bottle. It presents strong flavors of caramel and sweetness, like caramel-flavored coffee syrup. It has a strong chemical smell that hits you right away. Swirling and opening up the whisky presents subtle undertones of vanilla and corn syrup. It’s hard to get away from the alcohol smell, though.

First Flavor

Taking the first sip, the Pendleton Whisky hits you like unpolished grain. As the whisky goes down, it presents burnt caramel and maple syrup, with subtle malts, brown sugar, leather, and oak coming through. It has VERY subtle spice notes, including cinnamon, vanilla, and pepper. But you have to fight the alcoholic burn to explore these complexities. This whisky, like its namesake, kicks like a bronco on the way out!

Finish

Pendleton’s flavor lingers a little—not too long. That’s good because the grain alcohol and artificial caramel leave you wanting to take another sip to wash away the lingering flavor. A little molasses, allspice, and butterscotch linger on top of the chemical aftertaste. If you’re smoking a cigar, take a puff right away.

Final Thoughts

There’s a time and place for all alcoholic spirits, and this one takes its place on the shelf as a happy mixer. Because this whisky is very sweet and has a burn, it would pair better with ginger ale, a dry cider, or some soda water. The caramel and molasses flavors would mix well in a cider drink—perfect in the fall. Avoid very sweet mixers like cola or syrup. 

On its own, there are plenty of other whiskeys to enjoy more at the same price point. If there aren’t any mixers on hand to help smooth this whisky out, you could try to mask the flavor with a strongly flavored cigar, like a Rocky Patel Decade. The whiskey glass and cigar holder by Prestige is a perfect accessory for enjoying your cigar-whiskey combo!