Redwood Empire Distilling

Redwood Empire Distilling is proof that California can make serious whiskey. Built in Sonoma County wine country and named for the coastal stretch where the world's tallest trees grow, the operation blends its own coastal-aged distillate with carefully sourced older stock, names every expression after a notable redwood, and plants a tree for every bottle sold. The company's own counter stands at more than 1.8 million trees and climbing.

History & Heritage

Founder Derek Benham saw the potential in 2013: the cool, temperate climate of the Russian River Valley, he reasoned, could age whiskey with the same slow patience it lends to wine. Ground broke in Graton, California in 2015, in a former apple processing plant, and Master Distiller Jeff Duckhorn began laying down the first barrels while the team traveled the country to source mature whiskey to complement the house distillate. Four years of maturing, tasting, and blending passed before the first expressions were bottled.

The brand, which operates under parent company Purple Brands as of July 2026, grew fast. Volumes rose 30 percent in 2024 to 55,000 nine-liter cases, and demand outran the Graton facility's four-barrel-a-day capacity. In December 2024 the company acquired the Savage & Cooke distillery on Mare Island, a former naval base north of San Francisco, moving operations there in early 2025 and tripling output to 14 barrels a day. Even so, the company points out that larger producers fill well over 300 barrels daily. This remains a deliberately small operation.

The Whiskey

Redwood Empire is candid about its method: house-distilled whiskey blended with sourced barrels from Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, all married and bottled in California. Redwood Empire Pipe Dream Bourbon, the flagship, currently carries a composite mash bill of 73 percent corn, 18 percent rye, 5 percent malted barley, and 4 percent wheat, with components ranging from four to fourteen years old. Redwood Empire Lost Monarch Whiskey, named for the largest known coast redwood, blends roughly 60 percent straight rye with 40 percent straight bourbon. Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey and the new Redwood Empire Colonel Armstrong Wheated Bourbon, released in mid 2026, complete the core range, while a Small Lot series covers Redwood Empire Devils Tower High Rye Bourbon and Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey. A Bottled In Bond series, including Redwood Empire Rocket Top Straight Rye Whiskey and Redwood Empire Grizzly Beast Straight Bourbon Whiskey, showcases whiskey distilled entirely at the company's own stills. Every label carries a quote from John Muir.

Why It Matters

Plenty of producers source whiskey; few blend it with this much intention, and fewer still tie the whole enterprise to a coastal aging climate that genuinely behaves differently than Kentucky's. The foggy, even temperatures of Northern California pull flavor from the barrel slowly, and the results show balance rather than heat. The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library holds 12 Redwood Empire expressions, from the flagship blends to cask strength variants, which lets those who appreciate good whiskey taste the house blending philosophy across bourbon, rye, and blended straight whiskey side by side.

Visiting the Distillery

The company's Mare Island home in Vallejo, California occupies two historic nineteenth-century brick buildings, one anchored by a three-story Vendome pot-column hybrid still and a barrel room, the other housing a tasting room and whiskey bar. Visitors can take a tour, stay for a flight, and get a bite, with access to limited barrel selections and one-off releases.