Isla Califa logo ISLACALIFA

The name ISLACALIFA comes from the popular 16th century novel, The Adventures of Esplandián. In the book, Califa is the queen of an island made up of gold and pearls.

This was a wildly popular story and came at a time when the Spanish were exploring the high seas, and charting the west coast of North America. From an exploring expedition sent by Hernan Cortes where they discovered the Baja peninsula, the explorers made a wild assumption that they found this terrestrial paradise much like the garden of Eden and that it was in fact an island. They named it “California” after Queen Califa.

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Tasting Notes

Color:
Reddish gold
Nose:
Dark Chocolate, candied cherries, smoke and a hint of cinnamon
Body:
Rich and chewy
Palate:
Cocoa nibs, slight salinity of Himalayan salt, stewed fruit and caramel hit up front with a smooth texture yielding to a firm yet balanced hit of toasty sweet oak that tickles the palate for a lingering long finish

100%

Northern California grown, distilled, aged and bottled

5 years

Aged 5 years

96/48%

96 proof, 48% ABV

Quick Facts

  • All ingredients are Northern California grown
  • Two-row barley sourced from a local malting house
  • Smoked over cherry wood
  • Double pot distilled, on grain, with a 550 gallon 4 plate short column pot still allowing us to make a more full bodied whiskey
  • Aged 5 years in 53 gallon charred tight grain proprietary blend of new french and american oak barrels. this oak regiment provides an optimum spirit to oak ratio. finished for 1 month in forté wine barrels. layering in complexity while complimenting the natural profile of the spirit
  • The inaugural bottling was in July 2022, for this exceptionally distinctive single barrel whiskey