Corn syrup | Light vanilla | Hints of fresh oak | Faint dinner rolls | Floral | Light

Light caramel | White peppercorn spice | Vanilla | Touch of syrup | Cedar plank

Gentle rye spice | Faint caramel chew | White peppercorn | Oak | Short

Redwood Empire built its distillery in an old apple canning and processing plant located in the small town of Graton in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California. For every bottle sold, the company plants a tree, which according to their website is at 1,744,165 trees at the time of this writing. Each batch of Grizzly Beat mashbill slightly changes, with the company stating that “our four-grain mash bill on Batch 004 lands closer to our original recipes of Batch 001. You will notice an increase in wheat over each batch, we're now up to 9%.” This batch 004 was distilled in spring of 2019 and bottled in June of 2024.

Grizzly Beast’s name is a bit deceptive, implying that this four-grain bottled in bond bourbon will be bold and aggressive. In reality, the sip delivered is much more tame, often exhibiting more gentleness than not. The aroma given off is on the lighter side and highlights more of its wheat component, while the palate brings in light spice, highlighting more of its rye grain. A short finish wraps things up in a short fashion, focusing on rye spice and white peppercorns. This is a gentle-sipping bourbon that utilizes all four of its grain components but will have a hard time standing out in a crowded market.