Single estate distillery launches first whiskeys

Spirit Works Distillery has released its first range of grain-to-glass whiskeys – Straight Wheat and Straight Rye.

Spirits Work Distillery has launched Straight Wheat Whiskey and Straight Rye Whiskey

From November, visitors to the distillery located in Sebastopol, California, will be able to sample Straight Wheat Whiskey and Straight Rye Whiskey.

The expressions will then be rolled out to retailers and bars throughout California and select US states in December.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to launch our first whiskeys,” said Timo Marshall, Spirit Works co-founder, alongside his wife and head distiller, Ashby Marshall. “Both our Straight Wheat and our Straight Rye far exceed our expectations and are so much more complex than we could have hoped for.

“It’s an amazing experience to own a craft distillery and pour a sample of straight whiskey that your wife distilled.”

Each expression is distilled entirely on site at the distillery and aged for at least two years in 53 gallon charred, new American white oak barrels.

The Straight Wheat variant is made from 100% organic red winter wheat and is described as having a rich, caramelized sugar palate with notes of sweet tea and toasted walnut leading to a finish with “Graham crackers and subtle smoke”.

Meanwhile, the Straight Rye Whiskey is a “high-rye” expression, with notes of baked apples, coffee and honeycomb finished with warm spice notes.

Bottled at 45% abv, both whiskeys are non-chill-filtered and carry an RRP of US$65.