Cedar Ridge The Quintessential Signature Blend American Single Malt
In case you hadn’t heard, they have a lot of corn in Iowa.
Seriously, a lot. More than any other state, and not by a small amount. So why did Cedar Ridge decide to make an American single malt in the corn state of all corn states?
Simple: the Quint family, especially Murphy, liked Scotch. So they made a single malt that drinks like one, corn be damned (not really - they make a great bourbon, too).
They weren’t going to just make Scotch in Iowa, of course, so they had to find a differentiator: the first one is that Cedar Ridge started as a winery. When they started distilling in 2005 - making them one of the earliest “craft” distillers after St. George’s and Hood River - they were already a functioning and popular winery.
Taking inspiration from Murphy’s favorite distilleries, chiefly The Balvenie, Cedar Ridge decided to produce a single malt that incorporated wine finishes, mild peat, and most uniquely, a solera vat system made from toasted oak that is neutral at this point.
Being a winery, they use a mix of their own casks and casks from around the world - a bit of port goes a long way - plus rum and brandy when they want something different. They had been using Baird’s heavily peated malt for most of the time, only switching producers last year due to a fire at Baird’s that badly damaged their capacity.
Before reaching the vat, the malt ages in ex-bourbon casks for around 4-5 years. At that point, the liquid is transferred into another cask of some kind for additional maturation. Maybe it goes into a single cask offering, maybe it goes into the vat. Either way, it means each batch is slightly different. For the purposes of this review, I tasted batch 10.
For Cedar Ridge, the process is the differentiator. They distill off-grain, with the wash going through a one-of-a-kind filter that squeezes the liquid from the grain until the grain is 99.9% dry (I maintain that being a cow near a distillery must be an excellent life). Off-grain distillation is the norm for malt whiskies, especially in Scotland where it’s an SWA requirement, but Cedar Ridge uses the exact same process for their bourbons.
Looking at bottles of their single malt and borubon side by side, you wouldn’t know it was from the same distillery. The bourbon’s label is big and bold, large font and all, a classic American label. The Quintessential Single Malt - rebranded in 2019 - has a label reminiscent of Signatory Vintage or other independently-bottled Scotches where all the info is on the label, meaning smaller print but a lot more information for the drinker.
Murphy’s favorite batch of The Quintessential is batch 5: it had more peat than usual and was something to behold, apparently. Batch 10 was not a peat bomb at all, instead veering closer to the fudgy profile found in the Lost Lantern single cask I had last year. Soft, background peat surrounds a stone fruit salad. This isn’t a single malt that promotes the barley (for the record, Cedar Ridge is in favor of terroir and locality but prioritizes getting the flavors they want). As a result, there’s something closer to the crispy edges of a blondie - not as chocolatey, but still bursting with vanilla and brown sugar. It’s delicious, with enough fruitiness to lighten the profile beautifully.
We’ll get into the bourbon tomorrow - in the meantime, take a listen to my episode with Murphy Quint of Cedar Ridge Distillery on the Whiskey Ring Podcast, going live on May 17th.
Thank you to Cedar Ridge for providing a bottle of this product at no cost and free of editorial constraint.
Cedar Ridge The Quintessential Signature Blend American Single Malt: Specs
Classification: American Single Malt Whiskey
Origin: Cedar Ridge Distillery
Mashbill: 100% 2-Row Pale Malted Barley
Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Age: NAS, At Least 4-5 Years Old
Location: Iowa
Cedar Ridge The Quintessential Signature Blend American Single Malt Price: $59.99
Cedar Ridge The Quintessential Signature Blend American Single Malt: Tasting Notes
Eye: Fresh apple juice. Medium rims, thick legs bleed large drops that turn into beady ones on the sides.
Nose: Sweet, some barnyard funk that I enjoy. Caramelized edges of a blondie fresh out of the oven. Pressed and slightly fermented stone fruits, still bright. Mild peat on the back end, fruit fallen on the ground in an orchard in the fall.
Palate: Peach nectar - spicy peach, like a cocktail with some jalapeno in there. Mild peat threads the palate, coating on the middle and back half. Barley is robust here, darker than citrusy. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, peppery on the tip of my tongue, stone fruit salad in syrup, coating across the whole tongue. Smoked peaches and plums.
Finish: Stone fruits lightly charred on the grill, the peat still mild but persistent. Remains coating from tip to throat even at 92º. Drinks and feels above proof, closer to 110º, one of the bigger differentials I can remember.
Overall: Develops quite nicely into a smoked stone fruit salad. Drinks significantly above proof. Not a barley-forward ASM despite a mid-palate burst, still unique in its profile. Makes me think of The Balvenie Week of Peat, which is probably exactly what Murphy would like.
Final Rating: 7.1
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary
8 | Excellent | Exceptional
7 | Great | Well above average
6 | Very Good | Better than average
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary
4 | Has promise but needs work
1-3 | Let’s have a conversation
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