Virginia Distillery Port Cask Highland Whiskey 700ml

Virginia Distillery Company was founded in 2011 by Gareth H. Moore and opened its doors in Lovingston, Virginia in 2015, setting up shop in the Blue Ridge Mountains with an early strategy built around bridging Old World and New World whisky making. Rather than waiting for its own single malt to fully mature, the distillery began blending its young Virginia-made spirit with well-aged malt whisky sourced from Scotland, releasing the result as Virginia-Highland Whisky. The Port Cask Finished expression became the brand's flagship release and helped establish Virginia Distillery's early reputation before its wholly domestic Courage & Conviction line was ready for market.

Virginia-Highland Whisky is made entirely from malted barley, with the distillery's own on-site production married to mature Scottish malt before the blend goes through an extended finishing period. For this expression, that finishing takes place in port-style wine casks, sourced primarily from Virginia, for an additional six to eighteen months beyond the whisky's original maturation. The wine cask influence adds a layer of dried fruit and richness that sets this release apart from Virginia-Highland's other cask-finished variations, and the finished whisky is bottled at 46 percent ABV.

The nose is fruity and aromatic, with red grapes, peaches, and apricots layered over honey, vanilla, and soft spice. On the palate, clove and allspice come forward, balanced by more apricot and peach along with a note of barley sugar. The finish carries those spices well past the sip, fading slowly rather than dropping off sharply.