California Whiskey

What is California Whiskey?  Aside from being produced in California instead of Scotland, Ireland, Kentucky, New York or Japan, the definition of California Whiskey is still a moving target as distilleries in the state are producing Bourbon, Rye, Single Malt, and other types of whiskey in California.  However, I would argue that to be true California Whiskey, you should be using California-sourced grain.  And to be a California Single Malt Whiskey, you should be using not only grain sourced from California but also malted in the state.  Of course, the spirit should also be distilled and aged here to fit with the American Single Malt Whiskey category.  At 117° West Spirits, we aim to make California Whiskey by embracing the following criteria:

1) More than 90% of the grain used to produce the whiskey is sourced from California farms and malted here in California if using malt.  We obtain our malt from Admiral Maltings in Alameda, CA.  But Adams Grain also provides a source for CA distillers to obtain raw unmalted grains.

2) The spirit is produced from grain-to-glass (mashed, fermented, and distilled) in California.

3) The spirit is aged in California where it will experience more temperate weather variations in many cases compared to other parts of the country.

The result is California Whiskey.  Why?  As much as possible, every flavor in the bottle captures the terroir of California.  Here at 117° West Spirits, we have a Single Malt and Yolo Gold Wheat Malt whiskey that are produced from 100% California malted grain.  We also use over 90% California grain for our Rye Malt Whiskey and West Coast Whiskey with a small amount of chocolate and/or roasted malt not available from California maltsters added for unique flavors inspired by our passion for craft beer.

In short, California Whiskey is made by distilleries in the state from raw ingredients grown and produced in the state.  Or at least it should be, in my opinion.

Cheers,

Justin