Virginia Distillery Co. Port Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky

Nice drink. Peat, dark cherry, spice, oak flavors. Mild heat. Make a nice, smooth way to end a week. Give this a try, even if you don't like scotch. At $50 a bottle, there are better American malt whiskey and scotch. Woodford malt, Monkey Shoulder, Tomatin and a couple of Glenlivet's. Get it on sale. If you're in Virginia, wait for next year's Virginia Distillery sales. Nice discount!

Nose: Oak, apple, dark honey, grape, cherry, tobacco, raisin, white pepper, allspice Nose After Swirl: Floral, green apple, fig, cinnamon Palate: Oak, caramel, vanilla, fig, green apple, slightly dry mouthfeel, very slight ethanol burn, bigger mouthfuls bring out peat and dark oak notes Finish: Medium finish, dry mouthfeel wets up, dark notes overcome by fruit and light sweetness

Raspberry fruit nose. Harsh bitter/sour body. Finishes very harsh and astringent

I’d be interested to taste the two whiskies that make up this blend separately, to get a better idea. But from the nose, the sourced scotch seems to dominate. Definitely wouldn’t have been hard to guess Highland, even if it wasn’t labeled. Where the American influence seems to come in (to me) is more on the charred quality of the finish. It has a dry fruitiness on the palate and finishes sweet and spicy. Overall, it’s very nice, albeit sort of familiar if you’re a frequent scotch drinker.

Too spicy, not enough fruit