🪵 Redwood Empire Lost Monarch – Bourbon & Rye in a Redwood Forest

Jul 8

A trip down memory lane…

For those of you who don’t know (and I’m betting 99% of you don’t), I was a Boy Scout in my youth. In fact, I’m an Eagle Scout.

I loved spending time in the woods as a kid — strapping on a backpack, grabbing a compass, a water bottle, and a high-powered can of bug spray, then heading out into the great wide open with my buddy Matt. I lived for backpacking, hiking to high peaks, watching sunsets, and of course, roasting marshmallows around a crackling campfire.

But what does this have to do with bourbon?

I know what you’re thinking:

“Nice trip down memory lane, B… but what does this have to do with a bourbon review?”

Well, this bourbon isn’t from the hills of Kentucky. Like many of our recent pours, it’s a sourced whiskey — this time from the great state of Indiana (we see you, MGP). But Redwood Empire does it differently.

They’re a California brand that decided to do something both old and new:

✅ Source high-quality barrels

✅ Blend them with actual intention

✅ Skip the tired “pioneer grandma making whiskey in a soup pot” story

Instead, they hang their hat on the grandeur of the giant redwoods.

Introducing Lost Monarch

Today, we’re tasting the budget-friendly Lost Monarch, a blend of straight whiskeys. This is their “rye-forward” blend, meaning it’s a mix of straight rye and straight bourbon — a style that’s still surprisingly rare.

Think of it like a musical supergroup:

🎸 The spice and bright citrus of rye

🎻 Mellowed out with the caramel and vanilla of bourbon

🎷 A bottle that jams across genres

Sourced, blended & proudly Californian

Redwood Empire does distill some of their own whiskey, but most of what’s in Lost Monarch is still sourced — from Indiana (MGP) and Kentucky — then blended and aged in California.

For some Kentucky purists, that might as well be Pluto. It’s got an artsy label of the Lost Monarch tree, so if your ego needs a buffalo or a dusty old script font to feel “authentic,” look elsewhere.

And yes, it’s relatively young — but blended well enough to hide those awkward teenage years.

Pour it in a glass and suddenly you’re on a forest trail, cinnamon sticks crunching underfoot, chasing a caramel apple that’s rolling downhill. Tell me that’s not worth it.

🧬 The Mash Bill

Redwood Empire is transparent about blending, even if they don’t give exact ratios.

From the label & typical specs:

The rye: classic MGP — 95% rye, 5% malted barley (the same backbone in tons of quality ryes, including Bardstown)
The bourbon: 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley (standard high-rye bourbon)

So overall?

➡️ High rye content, probably in the 60–70% rye range once blended, with plenty of bourbon sweetness to keep it balanced.

Quick specs

🥃 Age: at least 3 years (some older barrels mixed in)
💪 Proof: 90
💵 Price: around $35, usually sitting on shelves without you having to bribe a store clerk with your kid’s college fund

👃 Nosing it

I’m not a big fan of mint, but this is a high rye blend, so yeah — there’s mint.

Imagine walking through a piney California forest after rain (are there pines in California? Eh, I digress). You’ll definitely pick up cinnamon too.

👅 On the palate

Toffee right up front
Then the rye struts in — that mint from the nose backs off, replaced by clove and pepper
Brown sugar peeks through, with a tiny pop of citrus

🔥 The finish

This is where the rye mint really comes alive, with a slight menthol coolness. There’s lingering spice — as there should be with this much rye.

I don’t get a ton of oak or nuttiness, and that’s normally what I look for. But hey, it’s young, so hunting for deep oak is kind of a “lost” cause (see what I did there?).

🪵 Final thoughts

This is an affordable, high-rye bourbon blend. It’s young, it’s approachable, and it’s a fun sipper. You don’t even need ice.

Is it artisan? Sort of — it’s blended with real skill.

Is it heritage? Not really.

Is it delicious for under $40? Hell yes.

So let the Kentucky snobs sip their $90 small batch from dusty shelves. Meanwhile, you’re hanging with Lost Monarch, eating cinnamon rolls on a redwood log.