Treasure Island Whiskey And The Stories Bottles Carry

This episode is about a whiskey with a story that changed after we bought it.

We’re drinking Treecraft Small Batch American Whiskey, picked up directly from a small distillery on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. At the time, it stood out because it was local, unusual, beautifully packaged, and worth supporting. It wasn’t a favourite pour then, and it still feels a little young now, but the story behind it has become far more meaningful.

Since that visit, Treecraft has shut down. That means this bottle has become something rare: a whiskey from a distillery that no longer exists.

We talk through what it tastes like today, why the nose and palate feel so different, whether more barrel time might have changed everything, and why trying and supporting small distilleries is still worth doing, even when the end result isn’t perfect.

This one also turns into a broader reflection on the people who take a chance on distilling, the stories they create while they’re doing it, and why some bottles matter for more than just the liquid inside them.

Chapters

00:00 No pop and first impressions
00:45 Treecraft Small Batch American Whiskey
01:30 Why it’s not bourbon
02:10 Treasure Island and the distillery visit
03:40 Buying the bottle to support them
05:30 Finding out Treecraft shut down
06:20 Nose vs palate
07:00 Should it have stayed in the barrel longer
07:35 Supporting small distilleries
0:800 Young whiskey and what distillate matters
09:05 Redwood Empire and future trips
09:20 A toast to the people who have a crack