Tasting notes

nose

honey and orange peel with cherry, dried apricot and prune, then brown sugar, blackberry, toasted oak and a faint graphite note

palate

honey, cherry and baked red apple over caramel and toasted oak, with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, turning earthier and drier at the back

finish

honey, cherry and apple open sweetly, then dry oak takes over and lingers

Mash bill

75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley. Most of it is yellow corn, and all the grain is grown to the distillery's specification by farmers within 50 miles of Mare Island. The whole kernels arrive at the distillery, where they are milled and mashed on site.

Why it's craft

This is Savage & Cooke's house bourbon, made from corn, rye and barley grown within 50 miles of its distillery on Mare Island and finished in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from Dave Phinney, whose name is on the label as proprietor. Every barrel ages on site in one of three spots, each with its own temperature, humidity and airflow. The distillery began making whiskey in 2019 and has belonged to Purple Brands, the parent of Redwood Empire Whiskey, since the end of 2024.