Proof and Wood

Proof and Wood is Dave Schmier’s blending house. He co-founded Redemption Rye, grew it to 20,000 cases a year, sold it to Deutsch in 2015, then went back to buying barrels. The name states the method. A blender controls two things, time in the wood and proof in the bottle, and Schmier works both hard.

At the 2023 World Whiskies Awards, The Representative was named World’s Best Bourbon and Tumblin’ Dice Single Barrel took World’s Best Single Barrel Bourbon. Both sat around $55 to $60. He buys rye from California, malt from Colorado and bourbon from Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio. Two world titles at everyday money.