Over the last few weeks, I have been pondering a lot about what this blog should look like in 2024 and beyond. Ultimately, I have still yet to pin down what those next steps might be for Bourbon Bossman™. However, during these pondering sessions, I did decide to start a new biannual or maybe quarterly series, that explores some of my favorite distilleries that I believe deserve a bit more attention. These highlighted distillery write-ups will then be followed by several reviews of their products with the hope this will cause others to broaden their selections and seek some of these gems out.

So what distillery did I choose first? Well, I choose to highlight a distillery that I have grown to absolutely love over the past year and is located in the general region I grew up in. Having grown up on the Mendocino Coast of California and frequently played, hiked, and drove through the majestic Redwood Forests, anything related to this area hits close to my heart. So much so, that much of my first Master’s Degree focused on studying National Parks, specifically those in California and the West, and the writings and works of John Muir, Father of the National Parks. With that said, let’s explore the Redwood Empire Distillery and what they have to offer.

Here is a little information from the Redwood Empire Distillery website: Redwood Empire is more than a cool name, its our home and a source of inspiration. With John Muir as our guide, protecting our environment has become our mantra. We have built sustainability into everything we do. Our still allows us to distill in a single pass, preserving both water and energy. Local farmers use our nutrient rich mash as feed for livestock. And our state of the art water reclamation facility assures only pure water re-enters our water table.

Redwood Empire Whiskey is not just a product of its environment, it’s a part of it.

Redwood Empire Distillery

Diving a bit more into the Distilleries background, proprietor Derek Benham founded Redwood Empire in 2011. In 2014, Redwood Empire Distilling purchased an apple canning and processing plant in Graton, CA, converting it into a distillery. Redwood Empire has been, and continues to source many of its products from Ross & Squibb (MGP), however started distilling its own products in 2016. Staying true to the company’s roots, Redwood Empire partners with Trees for the Future with a commitment to plant one tree for every bottle sold; as of the date of this post, Redwood Empire has planted 1,280,272 trees.

Currently, in early 2024, Redwood Empire offers eleven bottles consisting of three core bottles, two bottled-in-bond bottles, three cask-strength bottles, and a new small lot series of three bottles. They additionally have several limited releases and single barrels, but most of those bottles do not make it out of the California market. Below is a list of these products:

• Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Bourbon Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Lost Monarch Blend of Straight Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Grizzly Beast Bonded Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Rocket Top Bonded Straight Rye Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Cask Strength Pipe Dream Bourbon Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Cask Strength Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Cask Strength Lost Monarch Blend of Straight Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Devils Tower High Rye Bourbon Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey
• Redwood Empire Screaming Titan Wheated Bourbon Whiskey (Coming Soon)
• Redwood Empire Haystack Needle Bourbon Whiskey (Limited Release)

Redwood Empire opened over a decade ago now, however, I did not see their products in NoCo until late 2022. Unfortunately, even now, I have only found two stores in about a 45-mile radius that carry their product and it is very hit or miss when they are on the shelf. Thankfully, the distillery has started to ship directly to Colorado, yet funny enough, I have yet to successfully order anything from them as new products sell out extremely quickly. As of just last month, I now have successfully found nine of the eleven core bottles and cannot wait to find the last two, and maybe even a future limited edition bottle!

Let me end with I have never received a sample or a bottle from the Redwood Empire Distillery and I am only writing this because of my love of their product. I am not sure if this post will be useful or even if anyone will read it. Nonetheless, I enjoy the products being produced by Redwood Empire and believe many others will as well. So, if you are looking to try something new, and have yet to try Redwood Empire, please start by trying or buying a bottle of their Emerald Giant or Lost Monarch! Thank you for taking the time to read the post and please keep an eye out for several reviews of Redwood Empire coming over the next few weeks.

As always, please remember drinking bourbon is a personal adventure, so do not be afraid to drink it neat, with ice, or add some water. It’s your bourbon, you bought it, and you should enjoy it how you want to enjoy it!

Cheers! Prost! Sláinte!

Bourbon Bossman™