Deschutes Brewery CEO Gary Fish, left, and Alan Dietrich, CEO of Bendistillery Inc., sample the first batch of whiskey made with the breweryís Black Butte Porter on Thursday at Bendistillery on Pinehurst Road, northwest of Bend. The yet-to-be-named whiskey is about 9 months old and not expected to be ready for several years. The plan is for minimal production in about three years, Dietrich said. Fish, Dietrich, Bendistillery founder Jim Bendis and about a dozen other guests also tasted 16-year-old Velvet Fire whiskey, which Bendis said was an experiment that became the prototype for the new whiskey.Fish said collaborations are commonplace in the craft beer industry, and a collaboration with Bendistillery ìmakes perfect sense.î (Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin)

Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin

Deschutes Brewery CEO Gary Fish, left, and Alan Dietrich, CEO of Bendistillery Inc., sample the first batch of whiskey made with the brewery’s Black Butte Porter on Thursday at Bendistillery on Pinehurst Road, northwest of Bend. The yet-to-be-named whiskey is about 9 months old and not expected to be ready for several years.

The plan is for minimal production in about three years, Dietrich said.

Fish, Dietrich, Bendistillery founder Jim Bendis and about a dozen other guests also tasted 16-year-old Velvet Fire whiskey, which Bendis said was an experiment that became the prototype for the new whiskey.

Fish said collaborations are commonplace in the craft beer industry, and a collaboration with Bendistillery “makes perfect sense.”