One of America’s Best Single Malt Whiskey Series Comes From Iowa

Iowa doesn’t come up much in conversations about world-class single malt, but Cedar Ridge Distillery, out of Swisher, has been quietly making the case that it should.

The Pete & Sherri Married series — a blend of peated malt and sherry-finished malt, the name a wink at both its components and the whisky term for blending — is the clearest argument Cedar Ridge has. 2023’s “1st Anniversary” release won Best American Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards. The 2nd Anniversary, the third release in the series, debuted in April, available exclusively in Iowa and through the distillery’s website at $99.99.

The Series So Far

The original Pete & Sherri, released in 2019, blended peated malt aged in ex-bourbon barrels with malt finished in Amontillado sherry casks, bottled at 92 proof. It’s a bright, fruit-forward pour, with notes of Granny Smith apples, pears and cranberries on the nose; salted caramel and graham cracker on the palate; and a jammy, tobacco-tinged sherried finish. The peat is subtle throughout, which is truly hard to pull off. Full review here.

The 1st Anniversary, released in 2023, took the same basic blueprint and cranked it to cask strength — 118.1 proof. The peat retreated even further on the nose, letting the Amontillado dominate with a malty, nutty, buttery richness. The palate was dense and layered: charred peaches, singed orange peel, cinnamon, white pepper, a rubbery whisper of peat. The finish was long, gritty, and ashy in the best way. It earned a well-deserved Best American Single Malt title at the World Whiskies Awards and sold out in three days. Full review here.

The 2nd Anniversary

Introduced in April, this edition introduced a new wrinkle: the non-peated component, previously finished in Amontillado alone, is now split across Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry hogsheads. The peated malt maintains its previous path — ex-bourbon to Amontillado. The result is a trifecta of sherry influence and a noticeably different animal from its predecessors. The whiskey is aged between six and 10 years (there’s a 10-year Oloroso barrel in the blend) and bottled at 116.8 proof (58.4% ABV).

The nose is complex. The dry, buttery Amontillado character is still the anchor, but there’s a big Oloroso presence and an oatmeal raisin cookie note joining it. The peat comes through differently here: brinier, more vegetal, less smoky than on either previous release. There’s a musky grape note from the Oloroso lurking underneath it all.

The palate is powerful, with moderate viscosity — a touch lighter than the 1st Anniversary’s. Oloroso drives hard on the palate, with the peat showing up more prominently than before, though still well within bounds. It’s vegetal rather than smoky, working in tandem with a pronounced salinity and notes of blood orange and plum. The finish is long and lush: Sweet sherry opens with red grapes, plums, raisins, and raspberry jam before shifting into tobacco, leather and basil, and closing on a sticky, syrupy profile that’s just classic PX sherry.

For the complete tasting notes and score, click here for the full review.

How It Stacks Up

The latest release is an excellent single malt, but the 1st Anniversary remains the peak of the series so far. The Amontillado focus gave it a precision and intensity that’s hard to beat. The 2nd Anniversary is broader, more layered and in some ways more ambitious. The addition of PX and Oloroso introduces sweetness and weight that push the blend in a different direction: less surgical, more decadent. The flip side of that, though, is it takes away focus from the Amontillado profile that works so well in tandem with the peat.

Still, it’s a great single malt, and at $99.99 and cask strength, it’s a strong value. Cedar Ridge has been quietly building one of the more interesting single malt programs in the country, and the QuintEssential Special Release series is the greatest evidence of that of that.

Pete & Sherri Married 2nd Anniversary is available now in Iowa and online at CedarRidgeDistillery.com.