Whiskey Review: Defiant Single Malt

When I think of North Carolina, I pretty much think of two things: tobacco, and David Sedaris. But one of the fantastic things about reviewing whiskey is that I get to have my mind—if not blown—then occasionally recalibrated.

And so when I tried Defiant Single Malt, I was first struck by its story. It’s made by the founder and crew of Defiant Marine, one of the salvage diving teams brought in to help clean up New York City’s subways after flooding from Hurricane Sandy. Whiskey and diving don’t usually go together, unless you count excavating the amarena cherry after too many Manhattans, but somehow Defiant makes it work.

Defiant comes from Blue Ridge Distillers in Bostic, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains between Asheville and Charlotte. The water for the whiskey is drawn from an aquifer under their distillery, and they’re just as proud of their three other ingredients: yeast, premium barley cracked on a custom roller mill, and toasted American white oak. The whiskey is aged only 60 days, in a proprietary process to increase the oak’s contact with the whiskey. It’s already won prizes such as the “Best New Whiskey of 2013” by the Drammies Awards.

Here Are My Review Notes:

Defiant’s color resembles a newly redone, wide-plank cherry floor; the nose is just as fruity, rich, and buttery. It lingers and carries the sweetness of bourbon. But that ends quickly upon tasting—a bit sharp on the palate and grassy. There’s quite a disconnect between the nose and how it begins at first taste. It does finish sweeter than it starts, but not as complex as the nose would have you believe. This would be a solid choice to finish off a meal or to punctuate the end of a lovely evening.

I wish it coated my mouth more, but I tend to get that with single malts; they often taste a little “flat” to me; they’re like a movie other people adore and quote incessantly but that I can’t get into (hi, Princess Bride!). Maybe that makes me defiant?

But for a single malt, I enjoyed it more than expected. Defiant is 82 proof and retails for about $40. I’d give it a 79 for its rich nose, finish, and my delight that it’s not at all peaty.