Tastes

NEAT BATCH 002 NOSE - Eucalyptus, Honey, and Citrus PALATE - The palate starts off with quite a bit of rye spice. Just before it starts to dominate the palate, there is a quick transition of honey sweetness with a watered down honey viscosity. The palate is fairly straightforward and simple with mint and honey. FINISH - Quite long. There’s a clean, refreshing aftertaste similar to after chewing spearmint gum or eating mint ice cream. BUY? - Hmmm. This is not bad, but so far it’s my least favorite of the Small Lot Series. I haven’t tried the Foggy Burl yet though. If you need to complete the small lot series collection, it’s not a terrible buy but I don’t think you’d miss much by skipping it. BUY AGAIN? - Likely not unless I hear that future batches are much better.

NEAT NOSE - Buttered Toast, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Honey, and Lots of Citrus PALATE - The palate here is very complex and interesting. It opens up with some subtle rye spice along with a healthy dose of honey and vanilla. The mouthfeel is silky smooth, gentle, and sweet. I also get a hint of cinnamon but it’s more of a brown sugar cinnamon like the pop tart. FINISH - The finish is particularly interesting as there is initially some citrus that evolves into white chocolate. Totally unexpected! This is the first time I’ve gotten any type of a chocolate note on a whiskey, let alone white chocolate. The finish is long and definitely the best part of this whiskey. BUY? - Absolutely! Redwood Empire just doesn’t seem to miss although the PipeDream and Emerald Giant in the Core range are not my favorite. So far, all of their special releases have been great! Redwood especially makes great rye whiskey. BUY AGAIN? - As with most craft distilleries, I believe this should be cheaper than what it is. However, the Van Duzen in particular is quite unique which makes me want to keep an eye out for future batches.

NEAT NOSE - Butter Pecan, Light Brown Sugar, Vanilla, and Honey PALATE - Full of light brown sugar and honey with a touch of vanilla. The mouthfeel is quite thin and it tastes young, but not grainy. Everything is well balanced. FINISH - There’s a sweet nuttiness on the finish, but it’s short lived. BUY? - I would skip this one. I got this towards the beginning of my bourbon journey because it was in a cool bottle and expensive so I thought it would be great. Boy, have I learned alot so far. I also thought the pecan wood finish would be interesting, which it is, but it’s not enough. BIY AGAIN? - Absolutely not at $80.

NEAT NOSE - Caramel, Citrus, Stone Fruits; Light and Approachable PALATE - Considering the mashbill, I’m surprised with the lack of spice on the palate. The palate is rich in stone fruit and caramel. There is the slightest hint of vanilla as well. The mouthfeel is exceptional as it’s juicy and oily and coats the palate very well. FINISH - There is a nice hint of spice on the back end complemented by citrus. There isn’t much oak on the finish, but it’s noticeable. The finish is medium in length. BUY? - Absolutely. This may be the best offering from Redwood Empire. The sweetness here is not something that I would ever expect from a Rye whiskey with such a high Rye percentage. BUY AGAIN? - Absolutely and I especially look forward to more of Redwood’s Grain to Glass as it gets older.

NOTE NEAT - Very pleasant nose full of candied oranges, vanilla, and caramel. PALATE - Same as the nose. This is not complex at all, but accomplishes what it sets out to do. It gives you candied oranges lightly drizzled in caramel. Nothing is overdone or overpowering and the balance of the two notes is commendable. FINISH - Medium. Caramel stained oak. BUY? - Yes. BUY AGAIN? - Yes, but I think a blind between this and the more readily available Rosé Cask finish would be interesting.

NEAT NOSE - Very sweet nose. There’s notes of vanilla, maple syrup, caramel, honey, and the slightest tinge of orange. PALATE - The palate comes across very sweet with lots of maple syrup as well as vanilla and honey. As expected by the proof, the mouthfeel is extremely thin and watery. FINISH - This bourbon has a drying finish of vanilla and oak. BUY? - This is a decent bourbon that’s greatly overpriced in my opinion. I’d recommend it for being good, but I don’t like the price point. BUY AGAIN? - I don’t see myself buying this regular offering again, although I am interested in this at a higher proof point which would lead me to buying a single barrel. Unfortunately, those are overpriced as well in my opinion. Only time will tell if I decide to try one.

NEAT NOSE - A wonderful sherried nose full of raisins and other dried fruits, vanilla, and cinnamon. PALATE - The mouthfeel is a little thin, but the flavors are definitely there. While not robust, it’s well balanced and approachable. On the palate I get raisin and other dark dried fruits as well as orange. Towards the middle of the palate, the sherry notes intensify until the finish. FINISH - Long and drying on the palate. A soft vanilla note appears on the finish immediately after swallowing followed by sherry, light oak, and spice. BUY? - Yes. BUY AGAIN? - Absolutely. This is great scotch. This is a 2023 bottling. I wish I could have had some of the earlier batches which were reportedly much better.

NEAT NOSE - Sweet tea, Caramel, Maple, and Vanilla PALATE - This bourbon is silky smooth and glides over the palate. There is a great depth of flavor, but not much complexity. The palate is full of sweet nougat, maple, and caramel with vanilla towards the back of the palate. FINISH - Short. I think the finish here is so short because of the drying aspect that this bourbon imparts on the palate. There is also some barrel char that I get on the finish that I would likely attribute to the Mesquite. BUY? - Yes. I believe this is a great bourbon at a reasonable price point for a limited edition bourbon. BUY AGAIN? - I’d happily purchase this again. UPDATE: MSRP has increased. Ive seen it now for around $100 which is a harder sale. That’s unfortunate because it’s price point of $75 was much more reasonable.

BATCH 002 NEAT NOSE - Honey, Strawberries and Red Apples PALATE - The palate is soft and approachable. The palate is extremely fruity with the strawberries being the most dominant note on the palate supported by complementary notes of honey. While not complex, this is well balanced and smooth. There is no oak here on the palate which is a nice change of pace. FINISH - Medium in length. The strawberry note lingers on throughout the palate to the finish with a touch of vanilla and red apple. BUY? - While I believe the MSRP of $80 is about $20 too high, this is a pretty nice wheated bourbon from Redwood Empire who I’m a huge fan of. I’d still recommend this product because of being a supporter of Redwood Empire and enjoying this pour quite a bit. BUY AGAIN? - With all of the whiskey I have, I’m not running out to back this bottle up. Even though it’s limited, I would be okay with waiting for future batches to see if they evolve or get older.

NEAT NOSE - Cherries, Raspberry, Honey, Caramel, Sweet Oak PALATE - Bold and Rich with a viscous mouthfeel. This, interestingly is a honey/caramel bomb. The palate starts out with honey and caramel supplemented by the slightest notes of berries and cherries. Finally, on the finish the caramel predominantly comes back to shine supported by some sweet oak. FINISH - Decent/moderate. Sweet for sure. BUY? - Absolutely. Support craft distilleries especially ones that make good bourbon. I can’t wait to see what this tastes like with some more age. BUY AGAIN? - While I wouldn’t hesitate to buy this again, I’d love to see what it would do with some more age. In comparison to something like Weller FP, this gives more of a honey and caramel sweetness/richness whereas the Weller FP has more of a raspberry cherry sweetness and is brighter. With that being said, this is outstanding in it’s own right.