We had the pleasure of speaking with both Jeff Duckhorn Master Distiller and Lauren Patz Master Blender from Redwood Empire Whiskey out of Graton, California. Jeff and Lauren gave a great breakdown of their distilling, maturation, and blending processes. The two talk about how they got started in the industry, how the company has grown, and the exciting future ahead for this "Grizzly Beast" of a whiskey company. We taste through batch 1 of their Screaming Titan Wheated Bourbon, batch 4 of Grizzly Beast Bottled in Bond Bourbon, and Rocket Top Rye Bottled in Bond. You won't want to miss this one as we talk with the whiskey King and Queen of California!

This podcast was with Molly Brown Spirits out of Denver, Colorado. They built the distillery by hand and are producing some of the most delicious spirits. Thank you for the interview!!!

On today’s episode we are speaking with Kris Koenig of Golden Beaver distillery, located in our home base of Chico, California. We spoke to Kris about the craft spirits they are producing and all of the thought and intention that goes into his process. Kris focuses heavily on Calrose rice being a part of their mash bill. It is a product that is locally produced and sourced right here in our area. Golden Beaver Distillery is one of a few distilleries in the country that uses primarily rice. 

We had a great time with Kris at his beautiful Park Avenue Still House location.  Kris has an amazing life story of serving in the Coastguard, being a diver, filmmaker, photographer, astronomer, and hunter. Thank you again Kris for an interesting episode and all the fantastic pours!

Today on this episode, we have a round table discussion with the Chico Whiskey Society. Spoiler alert, we are three out of the four organizers for Chico Whiskey Society so we have our good friend and fellow CWS organizer Oliver on for the discussion and tasting. We will be reviewing four different whiskeys from the Western U.S.: Bottled in Bond Wheat Whiskey from Oregon Spirit Distillers out of Bend, Oregon, A Midwinter Night's Dram from High West out of Park City, Utah, and two single barrel picks from Frey Ranch out of Fallon, Nevada. Thanks for joining us!

On this episode of Distilling the West, we spoke with Dylan Carney of Savage and Cooke based out of Mare Island in Vallejo, California. Savage and Cooke was founded by Dave Finney who originally started the Prisoner Wine company. His background in the wine industry influences their products today. Dylan was such a great resource about the use of local products in their whiskeys. We’ll taste through their bourbon finished in Cabernet casks, their rye finished in Grenache casks, and their bottled in bond bloody butcher bourbon. Join us for the adventure!

On this episode of Distilling the West, we run you through the basics of whiskey. We talk about the difference between whiskey, bourbon, and rye along with other topics we hope you find helpful. If there's anything you think we missed, leave us a comment and we'll make sure we include it in Whiskey 201 (or is it 102? ... we'll have to figure that out.)

Vocabulary From The Episode:

• ​ABV: Alcohol by Volume aka the percentage of alcohol in the total solution
• ​Charring: Burning the inside of barrels
• ​Column Still: A tall metal cylinder with chambers separated by large filtering plates. The mash is continuously pumped in near the top of the still and sinks to the bottom. As it heats, the alcohols begin to evaporate and rise up through the plates with the heavier stuff being left behind in the chambers. The lower proof low wines get transferred to a doubler that is a kettle that increases the proof to high wines. This results in a more concentrated, higher proof distillate.
• ​Congeners: The individual alcohols produced during fermentation that each have their own unique flavor and aroma (good and bad)
• ​Enzymes: The substance produced that acts as a catalyst to break down starches into basic sugars that aid the fermentation process.
• ​Lincoln County Process: The process in which whiskey is put through a sugar maple charcoal filter before it’s put into casks. Tennessee Whiskey producers use this process to differentiate themselves.
• ​Pot Still: A large kettle-like pot that is heated from the bottom which brings alcohol vapor to be sent to a condenser arm of the still. This results in a heavier, more oily, congener rich distillate. Uses double distillation with a first stripping run and a second spirits run.
• ​Mash: The mixture of grain and water that is made to convert starches into sugars
• ​Mashbill: Essentially the recipe for the whiskey. The composition of grains within the mash.
• ​Peated: A whisky in which the malted barley is dried over a peat fire giving the malt a smoky aroma.
• ​Proof: A measure of the strength of alcohol. Double the Alcohol By Volume percentage and you have the alcohol’s “proof.”
• ​Wort: The liquid that’s extracted from the mash after the starches are converted to sugars. The wort contains the sugars that yeast converts into alcohol.

On this episode of Distilling the West, we spoke with Amy and Steve from Alchemy Distillery out of Arcata, California. During the conversation we discussed their history, distilling process, and their close relationship with their community; all while tasting Boldt Bourbon and Boldt Cereal Killer 100% Rye Whiskey. After our interview, Dan went on a family vacation to Arcata and met Amy and Steve face to face. They sure are good people, you should go visit them too!

You can find them at:

Web: alchemydistillery.com

IG: alchemydistillery

In this episode we talk with Mark Stell from Bird Creek Distillery out of Portland, Oregon. We delve into the topic of American Single Malt whiskeys distilled in the Western US. Bird Creek is an excellent example of a distillery that uses locally sourced heirloom malted barley to craft a phenomenal line of American Single Malts. Mark has an amazing life story that is so interesting to hear. Please join us, cheers!