My good friend David Souza from Corbin distillery in Atwater, CA personally drove down our newest single barrel whiskey and it was quite the moment to see it delivered. Similar to the Frey Ranch story, David is the fifth generation farmer to grow sweet potatoes and rye in the Central Valley. We are both from the Modesto area, which is how we know each other, and I've been telling anyone who will listen about the merits of Corbin whiskey since the beginning. Now, we are one of the first accounts in America to get one of these barrels. Using 100% estate-grown rye (it's the cover crop for the sweet potatoes), this is a 130 proof 6 year old rye that, for my money, is the best whiskey distilled anywhere inside the California state limits.
Bold, spicy, with enough sweetness from the oak to balance it out, there's no small barrique, oak chips nonsense going on here. This is rye that has spent over six years in a standard size new oak barrel, which gives it richness, but without all that over-oaked character you find in other American craft whiskies. It's full of graham cracker and oatmeal aromas with a peppery finish. The fact that David and his family planted and grew all the rye by hand, makes this a legit grain-to-glass specimen. This is pure California pride in a bottle, from one single barrel.
-David Driscoll