Cedar Ridge Single Malt

Cedar Ridge Single Malt Whiskey was first release from a mere 4 barrels and they say that each barrel has its own signature flavor (a notion we support knowing that master distillers spend a lot of time blending whiskey from different barrels to achieve a consistent product). The website goes so far as to offer different tasting notes for each barrel--each of the 4 began life in a 15 gallon (quite small) ex-bourbon barrel. Following, the four were given a separate finish in one of rum, sherry, port, and bourbon barrels. The first 3 barrels were made with 2-row barley and the last a peated barley malt (which we guess will give it a smokier, scotch-like profile). Special note: one could deem each of these separate expressions but given the small release and difficulty in assigning ratings to a given label, we have combined the release into this one entry. From the image, we believe that Barrel #1 (2-row barley grain and a finish in port barrel) was supplied to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery lays claim to the first legal distillery operating in Iowa.They craft spirits using products primarily from their own vineyard and distill from scratch in traditional Bavarian copper pot stills.