“I’m lucky that I’ve had both the pleasure and challenge of working with and creating some of the world’s greatest whiskeys, but when I got the call from Ashley and Colby Frey of Frey Ranch Farmers and Distillers, I knew that I would have a unique opportunity to work on something truly unique in the whiskey world,” Nancy Fraley tells Maxim. “It is extremely rare for a whiskey distillery to have complete control of the entire production process, from start to finish.”
The celebrated Master Blender underscores how the only ingredient in any of Frey Ranch’s whiskeys not originating from their family farm is the oak used for aging— and goes on to say if the Frey’s could grow their own trees, they would. As they have been doing on this fertile land in Fallon, Nevada for almost 170 years, the Freys grow all their own grains on site. They ferment and distill all the whiskey themselves, mature in their own rick houses on the farm, and then blend and bottle there as well. True farm-to-bottle distilling, every step fulfilled on their 2,000 acre estate a couple hours outside of Lake Tahoe.
“As a Master Blender, it is tremendously exciting to be able to have that kind of access to what is essentially 100% estate produced whiskey, which means that you get to work with the native terroir in a way that usually just isn’t possible. And by terroir, we are talking about the whole natural environment that affects the final outcome and flavor of that whiskey — so things like the climate, topography, soil type, and other physical characteristics of the place are crucial,” the talented whiskey maker discloses. Known as ‘The Nose’ for her exceptional olfactory senses, and having blended a rogues gallery of exceptional whiskeys, including offerings from the likes of Virginia Distillery Company, Still Austin, Wyoming Whiskey, J. Henry & Sons, Smooth Ambler and many others, Fraley commands a nearly unparalleled level of respect and authority in the industry.
“However, terroir can also include the people who farm the land and work at the distillery, and how their actions affect how the whiskey is created,” she continues. “Thus, the end result for the whiskey connoisseur is to be able to truly taste everything about a particular place. And in this case, you get to taste this unique land that Colby’s family has been working for many generations.”
“Nancy is just known in the whiskey world, and we’ve always been fans of her work. As far as we were concerned, she’s the best blender out there,” Colby Frey, patriarch of the family, explains. Their fandom firmly established, when the idea first bloomed to craft a special expression to celebrate a decade of distilling, Colby and his wife Ashley didn’t hesitate to slide into Fraley’s DMs. She responded by saying while she normally doesn’t take on many new clients, she was aware of Frey Ranch and would be excited to work with them.
“Our collaboration with Nancy began in early 2024, and we discussed coming up with the best whiskey possible starting from a totally blank slate,” Colby reveals, sharing how the team tried no less than 14 different mash bills and hundreds of single barrels to hand pick the proper ingredients for their Anniversary Whiskey. “We ultimately landed on a blend that included seven different single barrels of rye, a barrel of four-grain bourbon with oat instead of rye, a barrel of four-grain bourbon with oat instead of wheat, and one barrel of wheat whiskey. Nancy really felt like the oat brought this Harvester Series a characteristic that helped the mouthfeel and finish.
“What we appreciated about the partnership with Nancy is that she really understood and respected our philosophy of leading with our grains, which is the hallmark of the Frey Ranch brand.”
As a symbol of their devotion to the crops they grow their on their own soil, it was only fitting that for their 10th Anniversary Harvester Series Frey Ranch used all five of their grains (wheat, rye, barley, corn and oat) in the final blend — a true rarity in the world of whiskey. “This is my first time using a mash bill that has this many grains in one blend,” the Master Blender shares. “Since Colby and Ashley are first and foremost farmers, and their overreaching philosophy of whiskey making is letting the grains shine through, I thought it was paramount to go through their stock in order to find barrels that were really showing well at the particular moment of analysis.”
Of particular maturity and complexity was the Frey’s winter rye whiskey, distilled in March and April of last year, so that made up over 70% of the blend. “As I like to say, you have to just let the barrels with their different grains tell you what is best in any given moment; you have to be silent and listen to how they are telling you how best to blend them at any given time. We’re proud to be one of the only true Estate Distilleries in the U.S., so these limited-edition whiskeys are an opportunity to experiment with truly unique mash bills that allow our grains to steal the show,” Colby adds. “As farmers, we want grains to be to whiskey what grapes are to wine.”
And the results speak for themselves. The unique profile of the 10th Anniversary Harvester Series Batch #1 makes for a compelling celebration of the Frey family’s decade spent sharpening their whiskey swords. Fraley notes “de-constucted S’mores” to be the central backbone of the expression, along with oatmeal raisin cookie dough, and cinnamon on the nose. An unexpected bonus came when the bottle’s packaging was delayed, and the whiskey had to sit in stainless tanks longer than expected, allowing the blend to deepen in complexity and interest as it oxidized.
“The notes I get on the nose now are more of a honey spice cake with a lot of fig and almond torte,” she elaborates. “I still get that Nevada Pinyon pine nut note that I wrote in the original notes last fall, but now I would say that the pine nuts taste like they’ve been gently toasted in brown butter with baking spices. The complexity of this blend is amazing.”
Apparently, the Frey x Fraley collaboration boosted unexpected levels of anticipation. Demand for The Harvester Batch #1 was so torrid that hundreds of fans lined up on Flaviar hours before the bottles went on sale, with all 280 bottles selling out in 17 minutes. Meanwhile the other 220 bottles quickly flew off the shelves of their Fallon tasting room and allocated Nevada distributors.
“Flaviar has seen its share of high-velocity product drops, but Frey Ranch’s Harvester was on another level, a near-instant sellout driven by overwhelming demand,” Josh Jacobs, SVP of Flavar Strategic Partnerships told Maxim. “It’s a powerful testament to the strength and passion of the community they’ve cultivated.”
Most importantly, the five-grain Harvester Series celebrates a worthy achievement for a whiskey maker quickly gaining recognition for singular terroir and craftsmanship. Of all their accomplishments, we asked Colby what the family is most proud of in their decade of whiskey making.
“It’s every farmer’s dream to create something special out of the crops that they grow,” Colby tells us. “While we grow rotation crops, like alfalfa, that get sold all over the world on the open commodity market, we don’t really get to see the final product. That isn’t as fulfilling to me. But with whiskey as our final product, that’s a different story. The grains are all grown here and never leave our possession, so it’s really rewarding to experience our whiskeys with other people and see their reaction.”
While the 10th Anniversary Harvester Series Whiskey Batch #1 might be very tough to find at its $250 SRP, other excellent Frey Ranch limited edition options with a spectrum of wild mash bills are happy to sate your palate, on top of their acclaimed Bourbon and Rye expressions.
Follow Deputy Editor Nicolas Stecher on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.
