Redwood Empire American Whiskey

Batch No. 1, bottles 8/10/2017. If you aren’t familiar with this one, it’s a unique blend of American whiskey. 2 and 3 year old ryes and 4,5, and 11 year old bourbons. Some of this distillate comes from their own California-based Graton Distillery, while the rest is sourced. Interesting concept, let’s see how it works in practice. Nose: Bourbon-rye hybrid is very apparent. Caramel, vanilla, cocoa signify bourbon. Dill, pistachio, and black licorice representing the rye. Some apple, orange, toffee, cherry, and leather. Spicy oak, nutmeg, clove, and allspice round out a fine nose. Palate: Rye becomes more dominant, at least initially. Very “bready.” Vanilla, dill, and black pepper. A cross between dark chocolate, mint chocolate, and those raspberry-flavored Valentine’s chocolates. Coca and caramel to boot. Here on the mid-palate, the bourbon notes begin to take over. Allspice, clove, nutmeg, oak spice kick in at the tail end. Well-constructed palate. Finish: Getting my favorite rye notes: mint chocolate and pistachio. Plenty of vanilla, clove and nutmeg. And above all: Oak. Worthy of the name Redwood Empire. Long finish. Very impressive for 45% ABV. This is a great whiskey. A testament to the potential of blended American whiskey, which is a largely overlooked category. I’m excited to see what a few years of maturity would do for the Graton-portion of this blend. Online reviews for this one described it as marginal. I’ve got to disagree. I bought it on a recommendation, and I’m glad that I did. This was memorable for a number of reasons. High variation between N, P, and F. Remarkable hybrid between ryes and bourbons, which yields compelling note combinations. And just a damn good value, especially considering this is the first batch. Highly recommended, and looking forward to future releases.

Neat. Neck pour. I am a fan of the Lost Monarch as a great budget bourbon-rye blend. Found this old bottle of batch 1 (dated 2017) and grabbed it out of curiosity. On the nose, I get bubble gum... never a good sign when it leads with bubble gum for me. Ripe red fruits, raspberries actually. Cinnamon and grass that has been drying in the sun. Baking spices. Struggling in this nose a bit... Nice creamy mouth feel. Those raspberries dominate the tongue. The port finish really shines here. That is actually really nice and crisp. That actually might be my favorite port note. Vanilla and a hint of that grass shine brightly on the legs. Man, that port note is impression even in subsequent sips. Like biting into the juiciest fruit, it just gushes. Saves the entire experience. This is a muddled blend. Comes across young and odd with that bubble gum note on the nose, but the port on the taste is yummy. This is well below the Lost Monarch but it’s fun to see where they started and how they have grown.

This was a ‘flyer’ i picked up on a recommendation. The first set of drinks were really smooth rich and tasty. The next set i noticed even more age and maturity to this whiskey. So i put it up back to back with some Blanton’s. Both 90 proof and Blanton’s a know good bottle. Well, Redwood outshines Blanton’s, a lot. Much more flavor and a much deeper color and flavor. I will buy more of this.

Batch 1 bottled 11/9/17. I get caramel, leather and orange notes from the bourbon mixed with mint, dill and eucalyptus from the rye. Throw in a little chocolate and wine from the port barrels. It was a definite conversation piece in a zoom tasting. I don’t quite know what to make of it. It’s good, but it seems like all the flavors are not fully integrated.

Fantastic blend of rye and bourbon, the spiciness of the rye or the sweetness of the bourbon is not dominant but smooth and long rounded off finish that will please your taste buds. This is a game changer that will have anyone tasting this begging for more. Well done my friends.

Dark amber and slow legs suggest good things to come. I smell a nice combination of oak and vanilla barrel notes with rye. Neat it is warm and oily, minty on the front end but surprisingly no vanilla as I was expecting. It fades to a young rye burn. I like this whiskey