Redwood Empire Whiskey Sample Set

Discover how California's Redwood Empire builds bourbon and rye across blending styles and proof points. This set traces their portfolio from accessible to cask strength—six expressions, one revealing evening with Master Distiller Jeff Duckhorn.

What's Inside:

1 x 1.5 oz Pipe Dream 101 Bourbon (101 Proof) The flagship. Caramel apple, vanilla cream, cinnamon bark, gentle oak. This is Redwood Empire's introduction to themselves—approachable complexity at a proof point that rewards repeat sipping.

2 x 1.5 oz Lost Monarch Cask Strength Whiskey (Cask Strength) Uncut, unfiltered bourbon showing what happens when you remove dilution. Brown sugar, dark fruit, concentrated oak, baking spice. The alcohol carries volatiles your palate won't catch at lower proof—notice how heat opens up layers.

3 x 1.5 oz Emerald Giant Cask Rye (Cask Strength) Full-proof rye without the softening water adds. Mint, black pepper, caramel, toasted oak, cinnamon. Feel how rye grain character amplifies at barrel strength compared to standard bottlings.

4 x 1.5 oz Grizzly Beast Bourbon Batch 005 Blended bourbon showcasing Jeff's approach to marrying different ages and mashbills. Honeyed vanilla, dried cherry, leather, tobacco leaf. Each batch varies slightly—this is 005's specific profile.

5 x 1.5 oz Rocket Top Rye Batch 005 Rye counterpart to Grizzly Beast. Herbal mint, caraway, butterscotch, oak spice. Track how Redwood Empire balances grain-forward character against oak integration in their rye blends.

6 x 1.5 oz Haystack Needle Single Barrel Bourbon - Prime Barrel Pick (Barrel Strength) Our selection from Redwood Empire's single barrel program. This represents what we look for when picking barrels—balance, complexity, and character worth bottling individually.

Why This Collection Matters:

Portfolio Education: Taste Redwood Empire's complete range in one sitting. Flagship to cask strength, bourbon to rye, blended batches to single barrel. Understand their house style before committing to a bottle.

Try Before You Buy: We're launching our own Redwood Empire barrel pick the following Friday. This tasting gives you direct comparison points—taste our Haystack Needle selection against their core lineup and decide if it's worth adding to your collection.

Blending vs. Single Barrel: Compare Grizzly Beast and Rocket Top (blended batches) against Haystack Needle (single barrel). Feel how blending creates consistency while single barrels offer unique character that won't repeat.

California Whiskey Perspective: Redwood Empire represents Northern California's approach to American whiskey. Jeff will explain how their climate, water source, and production philosophy differ from Kentucky, Indiana, or Tennessee.

Live Virtual Tasting with Jeff Duckhorn

📅 Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
⏰ Time: 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT
🎙 Host: Jeff Duckhorn, Master Distiller, Redwood Empire
📧 RSVP: Zoom link will be emailed after purchase

Jeff will walk through each expression, explain Redwood Empire's blending philosophy, discuss how California's climate affects maturation, and answer questions about barrel selection, proof points, and what makes each batch unique.

What Comes Next:

The Friday following this tasting (March 7), we launch our Redwood Empire Haystack Needle Single Barrel Bourbon—the same expression you'll taste in sample #6. This event lets you evaluate whether our barrel pick justifies a full bottle purchase.

Your tasting notes and feedback during the event help us understand what resonates. If this barrel speaks to you during the tasting, you'll know exactly what you're buying when it drops three days later.

Join the Community:

Jump into The Prime Barrel Discord for real-time reactions, tasting notes, and comparisons during the event. Share which expression stood out and why—the conversation continues long after Jeff signs off the Zoom call.

Limited Availability:

We secured fewer tasting kits for this event than previous virtual tastings. Once they're gone, they're gone.

Can't make the live tasting on March 4? No problem. The Zoom recording will be posted on our YouTube channel, and the samples are yours to explore at your own pace. The real value is tasting our barrel pick before deciding whether to buy a full bottle on March 7.