Redwood Empire Just Acquired Savage & Cooke Distillery

Northern California’s evocatively-named Redwood Empire has, in recent years, earned high marks for both their distinctive-looking bottles of whiskey and for the merits of the whiskey those bottles contain. In 2021, InsideHook’s Kirk Miller praised Redwood Empire’s Grizzly Beast Straight Bourbon for its “delicious fruity notes (raspberry, orange zest) along with the more expected nutty, caramel and brown sugar notes.” At the time, Redwood Empire was celebrating its 10th anniversary; it’s been expanding since then, and just signed a deal to acquire another Californian distillery.

Specifically, Savage & Cooke is now a part of Redwood Empire. Previously, Savage & Cooke shared an owner with Dave Phinney, whose work has included everything from the winery Orin Swift to a bourbon collaboration with Scottie Pippen. Savage & Cooke’s whiskeys have also earned high marks.

The acquisition includes both Savage & Cooke itself and the distillery and event space it occupies on California’s Mare Island. This deal follows an existing relationship between the two distilleries, which saw Savage & Cooke handle what the announcement termed “supplementary whiskey production” for Redwood Empire over the last few years.

“Demand for our offerings has far exceeded our production capacity for several years,” said Aaron Webb, the CEO of Redwood Empire’s parent company Purple Brands in a statement. “This move solves that challenge, but it’s not just about expansion—it’s about preserving our tradition of excellence while pushing the boundaries of what we can create.”

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Having a larger facility that’s also a destination in and of itself probably doesn’t hurt the appeal of Savage & Cooke’s facility. There’s been a growing demand in the whiskey space for distilleries that can also serve as tourist destinations; having an expanded tasting room in a scenic location certainly checks a number of boxes. Redwood Empire expects to be in the new space by the end of January 2025.