RAPID CITY, S.D. – On the latest episode of Whiskey@Work, co-hosts Rob and Mark poured themselves into one of the most exclusive bottles to come out of Washington state this year: Woodinville’s 2025 Harvest Release, Triple Barrel II.
“This is the most unique thing I’ve ever tasted,” Mark said, after his first sip left him puzzled and a little dazzled. The bourbon spent five years in new American oak before taking turns in smoky Islay Scotch barrels and sweet Portuguese port casks. The result? A whiskey that tastes like a tug-of-war between seaside peat and berry jam.
Rob, battling through a stubborn cold, admitted his taste buds were not firing on all cylinders but still caught the whiskey’s unusual character. “If all peaty Scotch tasted like this, just add a little fruit, I might actually like it,” he laughed.
Woodinville, founded in 2010, has built its reputation as a hands-on craft distiller. They mash, ferment, distill, and age everything on site with no shortcuts. A 2017 acquisition by luxury giant Moët Hennessy sparked debate about whether Woodinville still qualifies as “craft,” but the distillery insists it has not strayed from small-batch methods and local grains.
Adding to its Pacific Northwest mystique, Woodinville ferments in open-air tanks that capture wild yeast from surrounding vineyards. “It means the region itself is leaving fingerprints on every batch,” Mark explained.
The Harvest Release is as rare as it is complex: only five barrels were bottled, around 1,000 bottles total, sold exclusively at the distillery for $70 apiece. No online orders, no retail shelves.
The podcast did not stay on whiskey alone. Between printer malfunctions in the studio and detours into Outlander time-travel plots, listeners got the familiar mix of whiskey talk and banter that has carried Whiskey@Work toward its 200th episode milestone.
As Mark put it: “It takes away all that Band-Aid taste from the Islay Scotch, and the fruit fixes it. That’s what I like about it.”
And if you want a bottle? Better pack your bags for Washington.