Tastes

Nose:  A little oak.  Brown sugar and cinnamon.  Not unpleasant. Palate:  Pretty thin- no surprise.  Sweet corn.  Cinnamon from the nose is stronger.  Brown sugar gets pushed to the back, but is present. Finish:  Short.  A bit musty.  Everything on the palate just tapers off to a spicy burn. Overall: Better than I expected for a bottom-shelf whisky.  It has more character than Old Crow, for example. Definitely made for mixing.  Would probably hold up all right if you wanted to drink it on the rocks, thought I wouldn't give the ice time to melt or this bourbon will disappear. Note: The price I gave of $20 is for a handle of Sam Clay. In Virginia, you have to buy this whiskey in bulk.

Nose:   Wood-varnish burn. Spicy malt, on the peppery side. Cherry coke shows up eventually. Palate:  Lots of wood, following the varnish indicated by the nose.  Tastes like something from a small, new-oak barrel that was aged quickly. More spice, but tending towards cinnamon versus pepper.  A hint of vanilla and brown sugar which builds as you drink a glass.  Medium mouth-feel. Finish:  Fairly quick.  Spice fades to a slight tartness.  The sweetness converts almost entirely to a woody taste. Overall:  Bit of a disappointment because I generally like Catoctin Creek's work, but innovation doesn't work every time.  Scotch fans won't find much they recognize in this whiskey, though it does remind me of some other young American malts.  I give the distillery points for trying something different, but I think their Roundstone Rye Distiller's Edition is a much better whiskey for less money, even if the comparison involves different grains. I struggled with how many stars to give this because it does mellow and improve after the bottle has been open for a few days, but I can't get past the wood varnish taste.

Nose:  Big hit of alcohol up front.  Let it settle for half an hour and the rest comes out:  Light honey- maybe honeysuckle.  Gardenias?  Vanilla. Palate:  Medium-bodied, which is more weight than I expected.  Honey and some of the heather you get with a Speyside single-malt.  The vanilla intensifies.  Fruit that I can't quite identify, like canned fruit cocktail.  Dark undertone from the coffee that adds some bitterness.  Is coffee char a thing? Finish:  Fairly long and the sweetness in the finish transitions more to coffee char.  The whisky develops nicely from nose to finish and grew on me. Overall:  I'm a fan of peated whiskies, but always looking for interesting variations on the charred heft that peat brings (Glendronach 12 is a good example of what I have in mind).  This is too mild for any comparison with a heavily-peated whisky, but the coffee finish brings something of what I'm talking about, surprisingly without making the whisky reek of coffee.  It's more of a roasted malt than a peated or coffee malt.  Fortunately, this coffee effect just complements the sweetness in the rest of the whisky and there's a nice balance.  I was afraid this would taste like flavored whisky or liquor and that's not the case.  As usual with this distillery, a couple more years in the barrel might do wonders for a whisky like this (maybe tame the alcohol burn), but it has personality and is worth trying for someone who's looking for something different without taking a big risk. Bonus points for this being a fundraiser for the distillery's home county.  You can find out more on the website https://shop.vadistillery.com/products/charity-cask

I found this whisky at a new liquor store in Washington D.C. that appeared to have bought out the stock of an older liquor store that went out of business. The bottom shelf had a handful of older blends and this was mixed in there. Bulloch Lade went out of production in 2007, but I decided to write it up on the off chance that you find a bottle and want to know if it's worth drinking. Nose: Fresh. Hay. Some lemon, honey, and green apple. Palate: More honey and some lavender. Apple juice. Fairly viscous for a blend. Finish: Mix of honey and red and green apples. Slightly bitter from grain alcohol. Whiff of peat. Pretty short, altogether. Overall: Clearly made for mixing because it doesn't have a strong personality, though it would hold up well in a scotch and soda or a Rusty Nail. I understand that Caol Ila was an important component in Bulloch Lade, which makes me wonder if it gets some of its body and the whiff of peat from the elusive non-peated version of Caol Ila (or there's actually only a small amount of the peated version in it). It's a pretty decent blended whisky, really, and every time I had it, it was better than I feared for something this cheap. It's like a less-smoky J&B. The loss of Bulloch Lade isn't exactly a tragedy, but, at this price, it is a loss.

Martin's VVO was discontinued in 2004.  I found a bottle at a new liquor store that I think bought the old stock of another liquor store that had gone out of business.  I couldn't find much information about this whisky, so I wrote it up in case you find a bottle yourself. Nose-  Largely non-existent.  Ethanol.  Lemon pledge.  Deet. Palate- Ethanol/grain alcohol.  Wet cardboard.  Red Delicious apples without the skin.  Unripe Bartlett pear. Pie crust.   Faint whiff of smoke that might just be more cardboard. Finish-  A short, fading version of the palate.  Gradually thins down to a grain alcohol taste. As bad as it sounds, this is mostly just a pointless whisky.  It was clearly made to go with soda.  Or better yet, Drambuie.  Unless you are buying this for the curiosity value, you could do better with Cutty Sark or Ballantine's for a cheap mixer. I ended up rectifying this using Ralfy's suggestion of a grilled oak stick and a tablespoon of maple syrup.  It greatly improved this whisky. https://youtu.be/bN-1mNqCLpc

Nose:   Lots of brown sugar.  Dark baking spices: ginger, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon.  Palate: Similar to nose. Sweet: brown sugar and the hickory syrup. Tobacco and leather to balance out the sweetness.  Pronounced wood flavor for a relatively young whiskey with a special finish, but the hickory eliminates the tart taste that comes with really woody whiskies. Doesn't lead with the alcohol, so it's quite drinkable neat, if bracing on the finish. Finish: Spices start to give away to a pronounced maltiness with a touch of salt. Probably takes a few days to finish.  Seriously, this whiskey combines the barrel proof and hickory finish to stick around for a looong time. Overall: This is a nice whisky that shows how the right barrel management can bring a lot of complexity to a young whiskey. It would be dangerously good, if it could sit for 4-6 years in the barrel. Yes, it's a bit pricey at $90, but you're paying for the rarity and innovation from a young distillery. It's a special-treat kind of whiskey. p.s: I rarely put ice in whiskey, but this one seemed to suggest it and it worked very well. The ice turned down the hotter spices and turned everything else up: brown sugar and baking spices. It also got a little herbal. It's another good way to experience this whisky, but don't let the ice completely melt or you'll ruin it.

The whisky: This is the most scotch-like of the half-dozen American Single Malts that I've tried.  It reminds me of a youngish, sherried Higland malt. VA Distillery Co.'s tasting notes are quite accurate. I picked up creme brulee on the nose and red currants, dark cherry/plum, and cinnamon on the palate.  There are cream and butterscotch notes that balance the fruit well. The palate is more sherried than red wine-influeneced.  Since the wine casks were shaved and toasted, the red wine influence may have largely been lost, meaning the cuvee casks contribute more wood spice and cocoa than wine.  There's very little smoke to detect, but a nice body gives it substance. This is a whisky that unfolds over time.  The tasting notes don't change in type as you drink, but they trade places in intensity and the fruit and spice build nicely as you work your way through the glass.  My opinion steadily improved over the course of my first glass and I liked it more the second and third time I tried it. Recommendation: I got this bottle for $75.  If that seems like a reasonable price for you to try a new whisky, then I recommend this.  If that feels like a stretch or a special-occasion price, you might be better off getting something like Glenmorangie Lasanta or Aberlour 12 for a little less money. Personally, I was happy to buy this whisky because it's a sophisticated American Single Malt and, if it seems a little pricey, then the premium you pay helps cover the distiller's R&D (and all that wood they had to buy). VA Distillery Co. also gets points for answering pretty much any question you could have about this whisky on their website.