Maybe you’ve already sipped Redwood Empire Whiskey at Brickhouse or Louie’s or the Beach Chalet; their spirits have been on the market since 2019.
But something you couldn't do was visit their distillery. Redwood Empire didn’t have a hospitality center—until now. The recent game-changer is their acquisition of two historic buildings on Mare Island, a space encompassing the distilling operations plus a bar, restaurant, and serene upstairs patio with a view of the water, where Redwood Empire has now begun hosting their local fans.
Redwood Empire's whiskey has been on the market since 2019.(Courtesy of Redwood Empire)
Lauren Patz, the team’s master blender, was the distiller at Spirit Works until 2020, where interacting with locals, hosting events, and consumer education were fundamental. “I’m excited to get back into that,” she says. “This is the first time that Redwood Empire has had a consumer-facing component… a huge step for us. The point of making something is to share it with other people and get their reaction to what you’ve made.”
Regardless of where you’re coming from, Mare Island is as convenient to access from Highway 37 just west of Vallejo as it is by ferry. And regardless of where you are on your whiskey journey, there’s plenty to do, see, and taste once you get there. For newbies, Patz advises starting by learning the steps of the distillation process and having a look-see at the equipment—including the glorious three-story, high-copper Vendome column still—then continuing with an education in sniffing and tasting whiskey.
If you’re already a whiskey aficionado, a tour is an opportunity to go deeper. This is a true local grain-to-glass craft product with a strong sense of place: the name Redwood Empire is a geographic one encompassing the region stretching from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.
The distillery’s mash starts with grain grown in the Sacramento Valley. Three products at the heart of their lineup—Pipe Dream Bourbon, Emerald Giant Rye, and the Lost Monarch Blend—were named, like all the distillery’s offerings, after actual individual old-growth trees. The company’s branding pays homage to naturalist John Muir, father of the national park system, and they partner with the nonprofit Trees for the Future and raise funds for Save the Redwoods League.
A sample of the menu at Redwood Empire Distillery(Courtesy of Redwood Empire)
If you’re not a whiskey drinker, it’s not a problem. There’s a full bar on the ground floor with a range of cocktails thoughtfully organized by strength, including the Juan Muir margarita made with mezcal and tequila and a version of a lemon drop made with vodka, butterfly pea flower, and herbal tea. You can also enjoy the mocktail of the season.
Bar bites include sourdough grilled cheese and a kale-and-spinach Caesar salad. The juicy pork loin sliders with bourbon apple compote, Havarti cheese, and frisée are a standout—best eaten with a side of fried pickles, the house specialty. Save room for the Pipe Dream peach cobbler with brown sugar, bourbon, and whipped cream.
Distillery tours, offered twice a day Thursday and Friday (3pm, 5pm) and three times a day on Saturday and Sunday (12pm, 2:30pm, 5pm), cover the production areas and barrel rooms, explaining how the spirits are made and some of the decisions that go into the products.
You’ll also learn the history of Mare Island, which was used as a naval shipyard for 142 years, starting in 1854. When you first approach the Redwood Empire buildings from the parking lot, for example, you’ll walk beneath a white steel horizontal beam high overhead that’s called a gantry crane, once used for hoisting the heavy hulls of ships into the water several yards away.
The historic buildings on Mare Island where Redwood Empire Distillery now resides(Courtesy of Redwood Empire)
The three large silos on the side of the distillery building are more contemporary, Patz explains. “The silos hold fifty thousand pounds of grain each. All of our corn, rye, and wheat come from California. We use about ten thousand pounds of grain a day per mash. We get about a truck a week of grain.”
The team is making plans for quarterly events, including seated whiskey and food pairings and mixology classes. Their official grand opening party on September 13th will include music, food trucks, and abbreviated tours. Keep an eye on the Redwood Empire Whiskey Bar Instagram for info.
Since the Mare Island San Pablo Bay Trail is nearby, you could even make a day of it. An hour-long waterside hike followed by a tasting of local craft spirits? It’s hard to imagine a more perfect Bay Area experience.
// Summer hours are Thursdays and Sundays from 12pm to 7pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 12pm to 8pm; 1095 Nimitz Ave. (Vallejo), redwoodempirewhiskey.com
A whiskey tasting flight at Redwood Empire(Courtesy of Redwood Empire)
