Redwood Empire Acquires Savage & Cooke Distillery From The Prisoner Wine Founder

(Photo: Redwood Empire)

On Friday, Derek Benham’s Purple Brands announced that it is acquiring Savage & Cooke distillery from Dave Phinney, known best as the founder of Napa Valley wine brands The Prisoner and Orin Swift.

Purple Brands owns a handful of wine labels, including Bex, Raeburn and Scattered Peaks, but has been more focused as of late on Redwood Empire, its up-and-coming California spirits producer.

Under the terms of the deal, Benham acquires Savage & Cooke and its related spirits labels, as well as Savage & Cooke’s facilities on Mare Island, a former naval base in Vallejo, just north of San Francisco. The facility is composed of two brick buildings that have a barrel room, tasting room, speakeasy, eatery and private event space.

“This acquisition solidifies Redwood Empire’s position as a serious American Whiskey player,” Purple Brands CEO Aaron Webb said in a news release. “Demand for our offerings has far exceeded our production capacity for several years. This move solves that challenge, but it’s not just about expansion—it’s about preserving our tradition of excellence while pushing the boundaries of what we can create.”

Benham founded Redwood Empire in 2014, and the brand has been growing steadily since. In fact, according to the news release, Redwood Empire’s volumes in 2024 grew 30%.

Redwood Empire has received overall favorable reviews from critics, with its Grizzly Beast Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey achieving a Raided Score® of 90.

Savage & Cooke is known for its label “DIGITS” a bourbon created with Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.

In September, Savage & Cooke announced it had begun bottling and selling its self-distilled whiskey for the first time. Its first homemade releases were a rye whiskey finished in grenache barrels, a bourbon finished in cabernet sauvignon barrels and a cask-strength American whiskey finished in zinfandel barrels.