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.