Copper Cane IslaCalifa 5 Year Cherrywood

Joe Wagner and Kyle Stroud founded Copper Cane Spirits in 2014. Joe Wagner is a fifth-generation winemaker from Nappa Valley, and Copper Cane began by distilling apple brandy before expanding into whiskies. They pay particular attention to the local grains selected for their offerings, wanting to lean into what the state of California has to offer, much like the terroir-driven ethos often found in wine making. The IslaCalifa is a 5 year single malt named after Califa, the ficitional queen of an island found in the popular 16th cenutry novel Las Sergas de Esplandian. When the first Spanish explorers first reached the Baja  penninusula of California, they wondered if they’d reached the same paradise and thus named it after the fictional queen. IslaCalifa is grown using Northern California two-row barley that is smoked using cherry wood, and aged in a mix of French and American oak barrels before being finished for 1 month in Forté wine barrels.

Oban 15 Year Cask Strength

Oban was founded in 1794 by John and Hugh Stevenson on the west coast of Scotland, across from the isle of Tobermorey. It is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, having only two pot stills and a distilling capacity under 700,000 liters a year. Because of distillery’s location in the town of Oban, the only avenue for expansion in recent years was discovered to contain remains of archaelogical significance and thus Oban was prevented from continuing. Due to the distillery’s limited production, the core range is not large, mostly comprising their standard 14 Year, Little Bay and Distillers Edition. This 15 Year Cask Strength is a US-exclusive release matured for over ten years and finished for four years in both ex-Oloroso and ex-Palo Cortado sherry casks from Andalusia, Spain.