Redwood Empire Lost Monarch

A little background

Redwood Empire is a distillery out of California. Lost Monarch is a blend of bourbon and rye, aged for no less than 3 years. The blend is 60% rye whiskey (95% rye, 5% malted barley which was aged between 3-5 years) and 40% bourbon whiskey (75% corn, 21% raw rye and 4% malted barely that was aged between 5-12 years). Redwood Empire included some of their own distillate in the mix, which is why the age statement is fairly low. This expression is named after the world’s largest coast redwood by volume, standing at 320 feet tall and 26 feet in diameter. This whiskey sits at a cool 90 proof, and can be found at an MSRP of around $44.

(Tasted neat from Halo Glass)

Color

Yellow Gold

Nose

The first thing I notice on the nose is a faint scent of corn. This obviously comes from the bourbon in the blend. I also pick up on beautiful notes of orange curaçao creme brûlée, vanilla, darker baking spices and a hint of rye spice. Very complex and rich.

Palate

The palate is medium bodied, with a very nice corn and vanilla sweetness upfront in combination with very light notes of orange. A spice from the rye becomes noticeable on the mid palate, as well as notes of caramel, vanilla and light syrup (like the kind you get at the grocery store, not the awesome maple syrup you buy from that one person in town who is patient enough to make it). For being such a high rye blend, the bourbon is far more prominent and it is not very spicy (which I think, for this particular whiskey, is a good thing). Great complexity and depth.

Finish

The finish is medium-long and filled with rich, sweet flavors of caramel, vanilla, syrup and a hint of spice. The sweet notes coat the entire palate and stick there for a good while.

In closing

This was fantastic! I am again very impressed by what Redwood Empire is offering. I would highly recommend to bourbon drinkers of any level to pick up a bottle of Lost Monarch or Pipe Dream if they see it, I promise it will be worth it. This has great value, and again, is one of the best current ~90 proof products that I have reviewed so far. I would love to try this at barrel proof (its so delicious at 90 proof, that my barrel-proof-loving self needs to see what it’s like before it gets cut). As Borat would say, VERY NICE!