Skip to content 
California’s largest whiskey producer, Redwood Empire Whiskey, expands its award-winning portfolio.
Redwood Empire Bottled In Bond Bourbon and Rye Second Batches Released
Distilled in Spring 2017, Rocket Top Rye and Grizzly Beast Bourbon Now Available
GRATON, Calif., Sept. 14, 2022 – California’s largest whiskey producer, Redwood Empire Whiskey, expands its award-winning portfolio with Batch No. 002 of Redwood Empire Rocket Top Straight Rye Whiskey (SRP $89.99/750 ml) and Redwood Empire Grizzly Beast Straight Bourbon Whiskey (SRP $89.99/750 ml). Whiskey lovers can rejoice in this much anticipated second batch that continues to excite consumers around the growing portfolio of expressions that convey a sense of place and inspire a reverence for nature.
Each of the new Redwood Empire Whiskey Bottled-in-Bond expressions received 95 points from The Tasting Panel magazine and its sister publication, The SOMM Journal. These high ratings underscore the distillery’s commitment to pioneering a new category of California whiskey that emphasizes creativity, fresh and local ingredients, and environmental responsibility.
“It’s an honor to bring our second batch of Bottled in Bond-designated whiskey to life,” explains Master Distiller Jeff Duckhorn. “The craft and complexity in selecting the raw ingredients started in spring 2017. No two mash bills were identical, and that results in exceptional balance and depth of flavor.”
The whiskeys were produced under the strict tenets of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which serves as an assurance of quality and authenticity. Produced 100% in house, these grain to glass offerings are the purest expression of Redwood Empire’s craft.
“On the heels of the remarkable response received from the launch of our inaugural edition, we’re proud to add the Spring 2017 vintage to our Bottled in Bond series” said Founder and Chairman Derek Benham, Purple Brands.
Redwood Empire controlled production from grain-to-glass for these two distinctive whiskeys. Duckhorn and his team delivered complexity and character through careful and thoughtful decisions from the selection of grains and unique mash bills to the significant cuts of heads and tails during distillation. The temperate weather conditions of the Northern California coast allow a slow, even flavor extraction from the barrels throughout the year which imbues Redwood Empire whiskeys with their signature style.
Best enjoyed neat or on a large rock, Redwood Empire Whiskey’s Bottled in Bond collection, is available for a limited time at select retailers in the U.S.
Redwood Empire Bottled in Bond Products At A Glance
Redwood Empire Bottled in Bond Rocket Top Straight Rye Whiskey – Batch No. 002
Mash bill: 87% Rye 5% Wheat 5% Malted Barley 3% Corn
Straight rye, aged five years in 53-gallon American White Oak barrels, primarily toasted and charred to level 3. This release features a 4-grain mash bill that adds 3% of Corn, which brings a little more sweetness than our inaugural release. Still maintaining a high percentage of rye, the result are aromas of bergamot, candied orange, sage, and dates with a savory palate of fig jam, caramel corn, and cracked pink peppercorn. Rocket Top is named for the 365-foot coastal redwood tree, reminiscent of a bottle rocket, in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
Redwood Empire Bottled in Bond Grizzly Beast Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Batch No. 002
Mash bill: 66% Corn 23% Rye 7% Wheat 4% Barley
Straight Bourbon whiskey, aged five years in 53-gallon American White Oak barrels, primarily toasted and charred to level 3. This release maintains the 4-grain mash bill, with an increase in the percentage of wheat. Overall, aromas of charred sugar, cherry cola, and reduced red currants open into a rich, full mouth of molasses, almond brittle, and lemon bar. Grizzly Beast gets its name from two giants: Grizzly Giant, a giant Sequoia in Yosemite National Park, and Mattole Beast, a massive 375-foot coastal redwood in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.
About Redwood Empire Whiskey
Redwood Empire Whiskey is a modern California craft whiskey from the ancient forests of the Redwood Empire, a cool fog belt that stretches from San Francisco north along the coast to the Oregon border. Founder Derek Benham and master distiller Jeff Duckhorn recognized that the region’s temperate climate and humidity would allow a slow, even extraction of flavor.
In 2015, we began distilling in Graton, CA and selecting aged barrels from Kentucky and Tennessee and blending them with their own distillate in Sonoma County.
Today, Redwood Empire Whiskey reserves more of its own distillate for 100% grain-to-glass expressions and increasingly features aged whiskeys distilled onsite. The result is craft whiskey of exceptional complexity, balance, and subtlety. Inspired by John Muir and the old growth forests he sought to protect, each bottling is named for an iconic tree in one of the groves of the Redwood Empire.
For more information about Redwood Empire Whiskey and Redwood Empire Whiskey’s award-winning bourbon and rye portfolios, please visit their website at www.redwoodempirewhiskey.com or on their social media sites at
About Purple Brands
Source: Redwood Empire Whiskey
Purple Brands, founded by Derek Benham in 2001, is a brand-led business with an acclaimed portfolio of wines and emerging spirits brands. The company’s winery operations in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County and Napa Valley are all Certified Sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, a claim only 4% of California wineries can make.
Raeburn Winery, a top-5 ultra-premium Chardonnay and Vivino-favorite Rosé, earned three consecutive IMPACT Hot Prospect awards. Joining Raeburn are Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon specialist Scattered Peaks, Avalon Winery, Four Vines, and a portfolio of exclusive brands.
Purple Brands’ spirits portfolio was launched in 2015. Redwood Empire Whiskey, inspired by Northern California’s giant redwoods, is defining what it means to be a California Whiskey. The fast-growing distillery has amassed the largest inventory of aging whiskey in the state, including bourbon, rye, blended whiskey, and two bottled-in-bond expressions. D. George Benham’s Gin rounds out the portfolio with a botanical-focused spirit.
Source: Purple Brands
For more from The Bourbon Wall, check out our posts on our Blog Page.
