American

Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey

$100

OVERALL
RATING

7

Whiskey Review: Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey

We review Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey, made from seven different malts and drawn from toasted and char three barrels of 100% malted barley.
Like Conversation

Tasting Notes:

About:
American single malt made from seven different malts and drawn from toasted and char three barrels of 100% malted barley; bottled at 99 proof; priced at $100.
Appearance:
This whiskey has a nice orange-brown glow in the glass, delivering thinner legs and lighter viscosity.
Nose:
The richness of the multiple malt types immediately appears on the nose, delivering aromatics of banana bread, baking spice, roasted almonds, and butterscotch pudding.
Palate:
This one is all about the malted barley in the mouth, delivering a powerful punch of baked bread the moment it hit my palate. Toasted almonds, baking spice, cinnamon, cardamom, and dried figs accompany this.
Finish:
This finishes punchy and sharp, leaving a slight bitterness underscored by a hint of sweetness as it fades off slowly.
Comments:
This is an expressive American single malt, there is no doubt. I’m not entirely mesmerized by it, however. I find it a little over malt-forward, wanting a little more roundedness in the glass.
Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey review
We review Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey, made from seven different malts and drawn from toasted and char three barrels of 100% malted barley. (image via Redwood Empire Whiskey)

Editor’s Note: The party behind this whiskey gave us a review sample. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review. It should also be noted that clicking the buy link in this review earns our site a small referral payment, which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.

California’s Redwood Empire Whiskey, since its founding in 2015, has been influenced by the rugged iconography of the Redwood Empire, a loosely defined region of the northern part of the state stretching from San Francisco up to the Oregon border. A good portion of this coastal area is covered by redwood forests, something the distillery supports in protecting by partnering with non-profits to plant one tree for every bottle sold. Up to this point, over 1,000,000 trees have been planted.

Founder Derek Benham and master distiller Jeff Duckhorn, with a strong belief the region’s temperate climate and humidity allow for “a slow, even extraction of flavor during the whiskey aging process,” have sourced older barrels from select distilleries across the nation and blended them with their own distillate. Described as now having the largest rick house in California, Redwood Empire Whiskey reserves more of its own distillate for 100% grain-to-glass expressions and increasingly features aged whiskeys distilled onsite. 

The latest releases from this distillery encompass what’s called the Small Lot Series, which is focused on applying its in-house style to products with a specific focus. The whiskey I’m reviewing today, Redwood Empire Foggy Burl Single Malt Whiskey, is part of this series. Made from seven different malts, this first batch was drawn from just 27 toasted and char three barrels of 100% malted barley. Bottled at 99 proof, it is priced around $100.

The namesake Foggy Burl references an old coastal redwood growth tree that reaches some 347 feet into the air.

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

All Posts
Search
  • Latest News
  • Latest Reviews