Tommy Klus’ Top 5 Whiskies of the Moment

Along with Multnomah Whiskey Library’s owner Alan Davis, bartender Tommy Klus spent nearly a year hunting down the more than 1,000 whiskeys that are now offered at the Portland bar. So what does Klus pour for himself? Here are his top five picks.

Glendronach 15 Year
“The Glendronach is aged 15 years in Oloroso casks and probably one of the best whiskies not being consumed right now. We’ve turned on a lot of people to this one, and it has quickly become a staff favorite.”

Bowmore 18 Year
“The Bowmore 18 Year has been a long-time favorite. It has a beautiful balance of peat and wood. The price point is a little higher, but it’s always enjoyed, appreciated and slowly sipped when I do have it my glass.”

Weller 107 – Library Edition
“The Weller is dear to my heart as it’s a barrel that Alan and I picked out. It is bottled at 107 proof, but you wouldn’t know it. It’s everything you’d want from a wheated bourbon and shows a lot of depth and complexity for its age and price point.”

Henry McKenna – Library Edition
“We picked out a barrel of Henry McKenna 10 Year Bourbon from Heaven Hill Distillery. I’m pretty excited about it especially because it just arrived. The rye in the mash bill is apparent and shows a lot of that rye spice that most people love. Henry McKenna is a bonded whisky aged for ten years and it’s well-priced, another reason I love this one.”

Emerald by Ransom
“This new whiskey from Ransom is made from an old Irish mash bill recipe sourced by David Wondrich and re-created by Ransom founder Tad Seestedt. In the mash bill you have malted and unmalted barley, malted rye and oats. Distilled in direct fire copper Alembic stills and aged three years in new American oak as well as French oak. This whiskey is on the young side and may benefit from a few more years in the barrel, but it drinks very well and I’d be a happy man to have this in my glass. You could call me biased on this one as I’m an Oregonian, but I think Tad knocked it out of the park.”