Company: Redwood Empire
Distillery: Redwood Empire Distillery
Region: Russian River Valley, California
Aging: Blend of 4 to 6 Year Old Ryes
ABV: 58.2% ABV
Proof: 116.4 Proof
Mash Bill: 94% Rye, 5% Malted Barley, 1% Wheat
Non-Chill Filtered: Yes
MSRP Price: $75
Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye Tasting Notes
Appearance: Dark Golden Honey
Nose: Lovely rye grain, honey and toffee sweetness, floral and herbal tea notes, light fruits, citrus, crisp apple, earthy evergreen, notes of cinnamon spice, light pepper
Palate: Rye grain, rye spice, light fruits, citrus, apricot, crisp green apple, cinnamon spice, peppery notes
Finish: Big bold finish that coats your mouth with an oily mouthfeel full of spice – leaves you with a ton of rye spice and light fruits with a hint of sweetness and pepper on the tail end
Is Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye an Approachable Whiskey?
Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye is a big bold whiskey.
While the nose is sweet and full of fruit and floral/herbal notes, the palate is full of rye spice and peppery flavors.
Since this one is cask strength and comes in at 116.4 Proof, this is not a whiskey for beginners.
Is Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye Complex?
Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye has a lot of complexity.
Since it is a blend of Rye whiskeys, it pulls flavors from multiple ryes and you can taste all the flavors in this bottle.
The nose is a spectacular blend of sweet honey and toffee notes followed by floral and herbal scents that remind me of green tea and other kinds of tea just like the bottle advertises.
You also get a lot of cinnamon spice and nice fruit notes on the nose.
Then once you take your first sip you are hit with some very heavy rye grain and rye spice flavors like you would expect from a cask strength Rye whiskey.
You still get all of the nice flavors you found on the nose except the floral and herbal notes are a little dulled behind the rye spice.
The finish is nice and heavy in the way you’d expect from a non-chill filtered Cask Strength whiskey and coats your mouth with a massive amount of flavor and a nice mouthfeel.
What are Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye’s strongest attributes/flavors?
Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye’s strongest attribute is its nose.
I just absolutely love every smell I am finding in this one and could just sit and pick out flavors as I sip on it.
While the flavors on the palate are just as enjoyable, the nose has a nice delicate balance to it that is quite enjoyable.
Is Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye a go-to whiskey?
It’s rare for me to find a bottle of Redwood Empire here in the state of Pennsylvania, so this is the first bottle I have tried from them.
My friend lent me this bottle to review and I’m glad that he did.
It is quite enjoyable.
If I could find this bottle more regularly, I could easily see this being a go-to bottle even though it is a little on the pricier side.
I have another bottle of Redwood Empire coming in the mail soon so I am hoping that it is just as good as this one.
Is Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye priced accurately to its quality?
Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye does deliver on its price tag.
I think the $75 price point is right where this bottle belongs.
It stacks up against some of my other favorite rye whiskeys like Peerless Rye and New Riff Single Barrel Rye and is extremely easy to drink for its proof.
I will have to have a side-by-side tasting in the future against some of my favorite rye whiskeys to see where this one stands overall.
Conclusion for Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye
Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Cask Strength Rye is a solid winner for me.
It is packed full of flavor and covers the full spectrum of flavors – sweet, spicy, herbal, full of fruit, and has a nice finish to back it all up.
I’ll be looking forward to trying more whiskey from Redwood Empire for sure.
Let Us Know What You Think
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Thanks for reading and cheers!
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