Delicious California Whiskeys

This entry into the growing field of American single malt whiskey is made by Venus Spirits in Santa Cruz, California. It uses certified organic ingredients, is distilled in an alembic still, and aged in small, 10-gallon barrels for seven months.

Distilled within the Germain-Robin distillery at the American Craft Whiskey distillery, Crispin Cain and his son Devin have produced this blended whiskey. The mash-bill is comprised of malted wheat, corn, and barley. This 2 year old whiskey ages in both used Van Winkle bourbon barrels and new Missouri oak. Bottled at 92 proof.

This whiskey is distilled from 100% malted Bavarian hard wheat on a 16 hectoliter cognac still, which for the layman is a fairly small batch. Three types of barrels are used for aging: new American oak, used Van Winkle bourbon, and used Limousin barrels previously containing Germain-Robin brandy. (As the barrels used for aging are used, this isn't technically a wheat whiskey in the US.) Brought down to 86.2 proof using rainwater.

Re:Find is a line of spirits intent on finding existing products such as using free-run juice often discarded to produce a grape spirit for their gin and vodkas. In the case of their rye, they obtain the base ingredients from neighboring SLO Brew in San Luis Obispo though they ferment, distill, age, and bottle at their Re:Find Distillery in Paso Robles. Aged for an undisclosed amount of time in 5 gallon barrels and bottled at 90 proof. Sold in 375ml sized bottles. Review is for 2nd batch.

Anchor Distilling released Hotaling's single malt in commemoration of the Anson Parson's Hotaling Building, which is one of the few to survive the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Though there is no formal age statement, the 100% malted rye whiskey from a pot still was aged for more than 11 years in once used charred oak barrels.

R5 is the wacky idea of Charbay Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic, who distills Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA into a whiskey. The label is a bit misleading, as it's not a "hop flavored" whiskey, but one that is actually made FROM hops in the form of the IPA! It's double-distilled for 10 days in the family's alembic stills in St. Helena, CA, then aged 28 months in French oak.

After a long fermentation using yeast ordinarily used for brandy or wine production, this whiskey is distilled in a 16 hectoliter sized antique Cognac still (about 420 gallons). Rainwater is used to bring the whiskey down to proof. Bavarian hard wheat is the grain used here and it is aged for 357 minutes in oak. Crispin Cain is the distiller here and perhaps is more known for Germain-Robin brandies.

Anchor Distilling is located at the top of San Francisco's Potrero Hill, hence the name (though it's also made in a copper pot still.) It's made with 100% rye, in the tradition of the first American whiskeys before the dawn of bourbon.

Distilled at the Anchor Distilling Company in San Francisco, the 18th Century Style Whiskey is made from 100% rye. It is aged for 2 years and 6 months, but it is aged in toasted NOT charred oak barrels and they use both new and used barrels so it's not a straight rye (or a plain American rye whiskey for that matter). As the rye is malted and since this is distilled at one distillery, it is technically a single malt whiskey. Now you know...and knowing is half the battle.

Bowen’s Whiskey spins a yarn about its founder meeting a 5th generation moonshiner named "Bud" with an old family recipe and is one of the only distilleries in southern California (Bakersfield, to be exact). It's a small-batch 100% corn whiskey aged for an undisclosed amount of time in barrels made out of fire-damaged oak trees from the Piute Mountains.