Gryphon and grain logo Gryphon & Grain

The name comes from the popular 16th century novel, about Califa, the mythical queen of an island that was then thought to be the garden of Eden.

This mythology is where the name California is derived. The bourbon and rye are named for Queen Califa’s army of 500 gryphons. A gryphon is a legendary creature. It has a body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, with a head, wings and talons of an eagle. The Gryphon was known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.

Find
Download Tasting Notes

Bourbon Tasting Notes

Color:
Tawny/Auburn
Nose:
Brown sugar, toast, grain, dark fruits
Body:
Full and chewy
Palate:
Peanut brittle, vanilla, leatherbound books, finishes with almond and cola
General:
Comes off nearly sweet, but beautifully balanced. Its powerful, but gracefully gentle, like Muhammed Ali petting a kitten. Pairs well with an elegant, yet sultry evening.

Rye Tasting Notes

Color:
Mahogany
Nose:
Butterscotch, maple and the rainbow of peppercorns
Body:
Full and robust
Palate:
Freshly polished leather, dried apricots, warm butter, dusty oak furniture in a fire, finishes with root beer and brown baking spice.
General:
This forward and sexy rye will spice up your evening. Succulent and spicy on the entry yields to round and smooth sweet bakery items and toasty oak. Could be a luxury perfume on the neck of a Brazilian model on a warm beach.

100%

Northern California grown, distilled, aged and bottled

4-5 Years

Bourbon aged 5 years and Rye aged 4 years

96/48%

96 proof, 48% ABV

Quick Facts

  • All ingredients are Northern California estate grown:
    Bourbon mash bill: Mapes Ranch red corn, malted two row barley, red wheat
    Rye Mash bill: Merced Rye, Mapes Ranch yellow corn, malted two row barley
  • Ingredients are hammer milled to a coarse grain. Loaded into the mash tun, heated to become wort. Transferred, still on grain, into the fermenter where the sugars are converted to alcohol.
  • The whiskeys are double distilled with a 550 gallon 4 plate short column pot still allowing for a more full bodied whiskey
  • Both the Bourbon and Rye are aged using a charred tight grain proprietary blend of new French and American oak barrels
  • The Central Valley barrel house seasonal temperature enhances the extraction of the oak flavors with swings from a low of 50° to a high of 110°