Cedar Ridge Single Malt was one of the standout whiskeys I tried at the 2014 Whisky Live LA. Hailing from Cedar Ridge Winery in Cedar Ridge, Iowa, this single malt is part of an on-going experimentation by this scrappy little distillery. A distillery who, from my perspective, is one of the few craft distilleries out there doing things the right way and is putting out some really good whiskey.
The bottle I tried is batch #13 which is a marriage of batches 9-12 which are then given an additional maturation in 15 gallon ex-Bourbon barrels. For their single malt Cedar Ridge only uses 2 row barley aged in 15 gallon ex-Bourbon barrels and then finished in various other casks. The exception is their peated batches which utilizes peated malt from Scotland. Batch 9 was peated and finished in ex-Bourbon (53 gallon), Batch 10 was finished in ex-Sauternes, Batch 11 was finished in French Oak and Batch 12 was finished in new American Oak.
Cedar Ridge Single Malt Info
Region: Iowa, USA
Distiller: Cedar Ridge Vineyards Winery & Distillery
Mashbill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: 15 gallon ex-Bourbon, 53 gallon ex-Bourbon, ex-Sauternes, French Oak, new American Oak
Age: 5 years
ABV: 49%
Batch: 13
Price: $60
Cedar Ridge Single Malt Review
EYE
Light yellow
NOSE
Lovely fruity and malty sweet nose with notes of vanilla taffy, honey and spice. It reminds me of the nice fruity nose that’s found in Glenmorangie 10.
PALATE
Same lovely fruity and malty notes as the nose; even the vanilla taffy and honey transition here. What differs though are the light touches of toffee, nuts and wood.
FINISH
Buttery fruit, wood and malty sweetness fade out at a medium pace.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Nicely balanced, round body and a smooth buttery texture.
OVERALL
I really enjoyed trying The Cedar Ridge Single Malt. It’s warm and flavorful and ended up being one of the bottles from the night that I wanted to walk away with. It’s a relaxing and approachable whiskey that I think almost any whisk(e)y fan could enjoy. I’d love to try all of the components individually, side by side, and see how much influence each have because I didn’t pick up any smoky peaty notes, but nonetheless it was enjoyable. It’s one of those nice-to-find gems from the current craft distilling boom in America.
SCORE: B+ (87-89/100: Range due to a single glass & not tasting at home)
