Cedar Ridge

Jeff and Laurie Quint opened Cedar Ridge in Swisher, Iowa, in 2005, the state's first licensed distillery since Prohibition. It began as a winery and still runs one. Its finishing casks come out of its own cellar wet with wine, port or brandy rather than dry from a broker. Wet wood still holds what it held, so the fruit reaches the whiskey and not just the oak.

The mash bill is 74% Iowa corn, 14% malted rye, 12% malted barley, aged in rickhouses open to yearly swings over 100 degrees. The distillery puts its angel's share at 18% against an industry 12%. Barrel Proof is 116 proof, non-chill filtered.