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 is a nice balanced rye, this might actually become my go to “rye” whiskey even though it’s classified as an American whiskey