🎙️ Redwood Empire: The building of whiskey flavor in California's wine country

Episode 144: REDWOOD EMPIRE (Jeff Duckhorn and Lauren Patz)

What happens when a California whiskey maker approaches Bourbon, rye, and single malt with the mindset of a winemaker?

Drew Hannush welcomes Redwood Empire Master Distiller Jeff Duckhorn and Head Distiller and Master Blender Lauren Patz for a conversation about the distillery's evolution from a small operation in Sonoma County to a growing American whiskey producer. They explore the advantages of sourcing and blending whiskey from multiple distilleries, the influence of Northern California's climate on maturation, and why Redwood Empire favors a softer, more nuanced approach to American whiskey.

Along the way, Jeff and Lauren explain the stories behind their tree-inspired whiskey names, including Pipe Dream, Emerald Giant, Lost Monarch, and the new wheated Bourbon, Colonel Armstrong. They also discuss the growing American Single Malt category and their experiments with specialty malts.

The conversation culminates in a tasting of Hyperion, Redwood Empire's ambitious new blend of Bourbon, rye, wheat whiskey, and American Single Malt. Named for the world's tallest known living tree, Hyperion brings together some of the distillery's oldest sourced and self-produced whiskeys in a release designed to showcase the possibilities of blending.

In This Episode How Redwood Empire grew out of a Northern California wine business

Jeff Duckhorn and Lauren Patz's different paths into whiskey production

Why Redwood Empire embraced sourcing whiskey from the beginning

The transition from its original Headframe still to a larger Vendome column still

How California's relatively temperate climate affects whiskey maturation

Why the distillery favors complexity, balance, and a softer drinking experience

The living redwood trees behind the names Pipe Dream, Emerald Giant, Lost Monarch, and Colonel Armstrong