Dry Fly expecting new spirits to sell out

Spokane’s Dry Fly Distilling is releasing four new spirits around Dec. 1 and expects them to sell out within two weeks.

Started in 2007, Dry Fly has gradually added more choices to its initial offerings of vodka and gin.

Around Dec. 1, the privately held distillery will start selling bottles of Port Finish Wheat Whiskey, Straight Triticale Whiskey, Cask Strength Wheat Whiskey and Barrel Reserve Gin.

The first and last are distilled versions of existing blends, using oak barrels to add more taste and variety to the flavor, said co-owner Don Poffenroth.

Cask Strength is Dry Fly’s wheat whiskey distilled to 120 proof, not the 80 proof it’s sold up to now, Poffenroth said. That makes the whiskey better for mixed drinks, he said.

The Triticale Whiskey may be the first commercial production of that flavor, Poffenroth said. Triticale is a grain hybrid of wheat and rye.

It took a number of trials using different Triticale seed varieties to find the right one for the whiskey. The liquor being bottled comes from farms near Ritzville and Rosalia.

All four new blends, plus a second batch of last year’s Dry Fly Bourbon, will go on sale at liquor and grocery stores on Dec. 1.

Dry Fly will also sell the new spirits at its distillery at 1003 E. Trent Ave.

These new products will all be offered in 375-milliliter bottles, half the “fifth” sizes of traditional liquor. They’ll generally be priced at $30, Poffenroth said.

Since Washington legalized private liquor sales on June 1, Dry Fly has seen its sales in Oregon and Idaho increase by 30 percent. To Poffenroth, that demonstrates customers are crossing state lines to find lower prices on Dry Fly products.