American

Virginia Distillery Company Port Cask Reserve American Single Malt

$44.99

OVERALL
RATING

9

Whiskey Review: Virginia Distillery Company Port Cask Reserve American Single Malt

Tasting Notes:

About:
An American single malt first aged in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels for years before being finished in a combination of tawny port casks from Portugal and port-style wine casks from Virginia. It is bottled at 93 proof and priced at $44.99.
Appearance:
The whiskey in this glass is amber in color but darker reddish due to the dual port cask finish. The legs and viscosity are both moderate quality.
Nose:
The aromatics are rich in berries and baked bread, with particular notes of succulent strawberries, deep red cherries, a good amount of oak, sweet BBQ sauce, and a hint of creme brûlée.
Palate:
Lucious and berry-forward on the palate, this expression plays to its port cask nature, revealing considerations of red cherries, ripe strawberries, a sturdy oak backbone, rich dark chocolate, a hint of honey, warm cinnamon rolls, and a nod of vanilla.
Finish:
This finishes in a sweet berry, dark chocolate kind of way, carrying these characteristics off into the night lingeringly.
Comments:
Virginia Distillery Company Port Cask Reserve American Single Malt represents a solid example of its category type, particularly considering the price value and the cask finish. This is an outstanding sipper and one well worth the lower cost of admission.
Virginia Distillery Company Port Cask Reserve American Single Malt review
We review Virginia Distillery Company Port Cask Reserve American Single Malt, first aged in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels for years before being finished in a combination of traditional tawny port casks sourced from Portuguese bodegas, along with port-style wine casks sourced in Virginia. (image via Virginia Distillery Company)

Editor’s Note: We received a review sample of this whiskey from the brand. However, in accordance with our editorial policies, this has not influenced the outcome of our review in any way.

Virginia Distillery Company, founded in 2011, has a relatively long history regarding the ongoing evolution of the American single malt whiskey category. Dr. George G. Moore built up what would eventually become a world-class distillery campus in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains in Lovingston, VA. George’s passion for single malt whisky today is carried on by his wife, Angela Moore, and their son, Gareth Moore, along with his wife, Maggie Moore, who took the helm after his passing.

The distillery uses Midwest barley to distill through its copper pot stills from Scotland, handmade by a specialty fabricator. The new make is then aged in “cask houses,” with Virginia’s hot summers and cool winters allowing their spirit, according to them, to age faster than counterparts in Scotland.

What’s in the bottle

Virginia Distillery Company Port Cask Reserve American Single Malt, the focus of this review, is one of several cask-finished American single malts being positioned by the distillery as aiming to “expand consumer access to this growing category by providing a bold line of American Single Malts at an introductory price point.”

This particular whiskey was first aged in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels for years before being finished in a combination of traditional tawny port casks sourced from Portuguese bodegas and port-style wine casks sourced in Virginia.

“The level of matured stocks we’ve reached has enabled us to introduce an entry-level priced product within the American Single Malt category. Representing a significant development for our business,” Gareth Moore said when this whiskey was released. “We remain committed to leading the American Single Malt movement. This new house-brand will serve as the gateway to the American Single Malt category. It will be showcased alongside our luxury brand, Courage & Conviction, allowing us to cater to a broad spectrum of consumer preferences and price points.”

Virginia Distillery Company Port Cask Reserve American Single Malt is bottled at 93 proof and priced at $44.99.

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Nino Kilgore-Marchetti

Nino Kilgore-Marchetti is the founder of The Whiskey Wash, an award-winning whiskey lifestyle website dedicated to informing and entertaining consumers about whisk(e)y globally. As a whisk(e)y journalist, expert, and judge, he has written extensively about the subject, been interviewed in various media outlets, and provided tasting input on many whiskeys at competitions.

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