Savage & Cooke Distillery

On historic Mare Island in Vallejo, California, a former naval shipyard building now houses copper stills instead of warships. Savage & Cooke Distillery turns locally grown grain into bourbon, rye, and American whiskey finished in wine barrels from founder Dave Phinney's own vineyards, a detail that sets it apart from nearly every other whiskey producer on the West Coast.

History & Heritage

Savage & Cooke was founded in 2016 by winemaker Dave Phinney, best known for building the Orin Swift wine label before turning his attention to spirits. The physical distillery officially opened on Mare Island in 2018, occupying a site with genuine naval history rather than a purpose-built industrial park. As of July 2026, Savage & Cooke is owned by Purple Brands, the parent company of Redwood Empire Whiskey, which acquired the distillery in late 2024. Phinney founded and built the brand, but Purple Brands now controls it, and visitors should expect the Mare Island experience to increasingly carry Redwood Empire branding as the integration continues.

The Whiskey

Production starts close to home: all grain is grown within 50 miles of the distillery, delivered as whole kernels, then milled and mashed on site rather than sourced as pre-made mash. Distillation runs through a 20-plate, 24-foot Vendome Copper & Brassworks column still, and five separate batches of distillate are blended before barreling to keep the profile consistent from batch to batch. The whiskey ages in White American Oak Char #3 barrels handcrafted by cooper Seguin Moreau, split across three different on-site aging locations chosen for their distinct temperature, humidity, sunlight, and airflow conditions.

The mash bills reflect a bourbon-forward house style: the flagship Bourbon runs 75% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley, while the Rye runs 51% rye, 45% corn, 4% malted barley. What distinguishes Savage & Cooke most is the finishing step. A portion of each whiskey spends roughly two months in wine barrels pulled from Dave Phinney's own wine projects: Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for the bourbon, Grenache for the rye, and Zinfandel for the American whiskey, a direct extension of Phinney's winemaking background into spirits. Even the water is sourced from a spring on Phinney's high-elevation Alexander Valley property. The Savage & Cooke Bad Sweater Whiskey, carried in the Reserve Whiskey Library at The Sentinel Room, is a spiced expression built from a bourbon base (71% corn, 21% rye, 4% malted barley) infused with warming spice notes.

Why It Matters

Savage & Cooke has picked up serious recognition in a short window. It was named 2023 California Distillery of the Year, and its Burning Chair Bourbon took Double Gold at the 2023 New York International Spirits Competition, with additional Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals across its lineup that same year. The Bourbon Whiskey also earned Double Gold at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and Gold at the New York World Spirits Competition. For a distillery that only started producing in 2018, that medal count reflects a genuinely well-built house style, one built on local grain, wine-barrel finishing, and a winemaker's palate applied to whiskey.

Visiting the Distillery

Savage & Cooke offers guided tours and tastings by appointment, typically Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The tour covers the barrel room, the production room, and a rooftop view of Mare Island, and an on-site restaurant serves food and cocktails alongside the tastings. Following the 2024 acquisition, prospective visitors should confirm current tour branding and availability directly, since the experience may now run under the Redwood Empire Whiskey name.