History

Background and Pioneer Spirit

Sonoma Distilling Company is a California craft whiskey brand. Adam Spiegel is the founder and whiskey maker. Adam Spiegel is a prominent figure in the whiskey industry and serves as President and Master Distiller at Corning & Company. Adam's journey began with Sonoma Distilling Company, a pioneering brand and distillery established as one of the first 200 distilleries in the USA. The distillery is dedicated to preserving old techniques and uses traditional Cognac- and Scottish-style pot stills along with pre-industrial American whiskey, Cognac, and Scottish methods to produce whiskey from locally grown grains within a radius of 100 miles.

Production and Technique

California whiskey is described as robust and full-bodied, and their Straight California Bourbon and Rye whiskeys are double distilled in handmade copper pot-stills. Lightly smoked barley is used for Cherrywood Smoked Bourbon and Rye to give a distinctive palate. The distillery also focuses on using grains grown within 100 miles.

Pioneers and Philosophy

Sonoma Distilling Company is described as a pioneer in Californian Craft Whiskey. The brand emphasizes preserving old-world techniques and using Cognac and Scottish pot stills together with pre-industrial American whiskey methods to create whiskey from locally grown grains within a 100-mile radius.

Production and Technology

The core expression is California whiskey. It is robust and full-bodied and produced by double distillation in copper pot-stills. To achieve a distinctive palate, Cherrywood smoked barley is used in several of their products. The distillery produces both Bourbon and Rye variants, including smoked variants.

Products / Whiskey Series

• CALIFORNIA BOURBON
• Mash Bill: Corn, Wheat, Rye, Malted Barley
• Age: minimum 3 years
• Tasting Notes: Toasted Vanilla, Almond, Toffee Brittle, Coffee
• ABV: 92 Proof / 46% ABV
• CALIFORNIA RYE
• Mash Bill: Rye, Malted Rye
• Age: minimum 4 years
• Tasting Notes: Vanilla, Allspice, White Pepper, Dried Apricot, Walnut
• ABV: 93 Proof / 46.5% ABV
• CALIFORNIA SMOKED BOURBON
• Mash Bill: Corn, Rye, Cherrywood Smoked Barley (smoked in-house)
• Age: minimum 3 years
• Tasting Notes: Maraschino Cherry, Smoke, Allspice, Vanilla
• ABV: 92 Proof / 46% ABV
• CALIFORNIA SMOKED RYE
• Mash Bill: Rye, Wheat, Cherrywood Smoked Barley (smoked in-house)
• Age: minimum 4 years
• Tasting Notes: Dried Figs, Toasted Almonds, Brandied Cherries, New Leather
• ABV: 93 Proof / 46.5% ABV
• CHERRYWOOD SMOKED RYE
• Mash Bill: Rye, Wheat, Cherrywood Smoked Barley (smoked in-house)
• Age: minimum 4 years
• Tasting Notes: Dried Figs, Toasted Almonds, Brandied Cherries, New Leather
• ABV: 93 Proof / 46.5% ABV
• CHERRYWOOD SMOKED BOURBON
• Mash Bill: Corn, Rye, Cherrywood Smoked Barley (smoked in-house)
• Age: minimum 3 years
• Tasting Notes: Maraschino Cherry, Smoke, Allspice, Vanilla
• ABV: 92 Proof / 46% ABV
• BLACK TRUFFLE RYE
• Mash Bill: Rye, Malted Rye
• Age: minimum 3 years
• Tasting Notes: Vanilla, Dried Apricots, Allspice, Seaweed, Damp Earth
• ABV: 93 Proof / 46.5% ABV
• CALIFORNIA WHEAT
• Product name listed; details such as mash bill and age are not available in the scraped content

Visits and Experiences

• Limited Release Whiskey is offered first to Whiskey Club members, and sometimes there is enough to share.

Philosophy

• California Craft Whiskey; Distilling Pioneers; uses old-world techniques and Cognac and Scottish pot stills together with pre-industrial American whiskey methods; grains grown within a 100-mile radius to support local commerce and terroir.