A blend of at least 5-year-old aged American single malt whiskies from first fill bourbon and STR European red wine Cuvée casks and bottled at 96 proof (48% ABV), VDC’s Double Cask Reserve is a beautiful golden yellow in the glass.
ON THE NOSE (WITHOUT WATER):
There are aromas of crisp, juicy apples & apricots with some butterscotch emerging, though not immediately until it sat a bit in the glass and with a few swirls. The butterscotch became stronger the longer it say in the glass and with more aggressive swirls. The sinus tingled like when you smell very acidic citrus, but I didn’t get a strong discernible citrus aroma. There is not a particularly strong alcohol aroma and the sweet, juicy fruity aromas were dominant with wafts of butterscotch on the backend. The aromas remained the same on subsequent post-neck pours.
ON THE NOSE (WITH 2 DROPS OF SMARTWATER FROM A GLENCAIRN PIPETTE & SWIRLING):
The water brought warm butterscotch aromas to the forefront with the sweet, juicy fruit smells changing places with it, appearing now on the backend after the butterscotch. The buttery aroma of butterscotch mixed with the juicy sweetness of the fruit and a bit of citrusy tingling in the sinuses. The appearance of the butterscotch & fruit aromas seemed to shift and not remain constant in terms of when they appeared. The constant was that the butterscotch aroma was more prominent and noticeable with the drops of water. This remained the same on subsequent post-neck pours. The caramel, butterscotch, & vanilla aromas were much stronger in the empty glass.
ON THE PALATE (WITHOUT WATER):
A quick, fruity sweetness followed immediately by an alcohol, spicy ginger heat, a bit of oaky bitterness (not overwhelming & it comes & goes, making itself known after the swallow but still mixing with the sweet notes & the heat). There is a toasted, malty/peaty smokiness and nuttiness. The flavor profile is not at all as sweet as the nose suggests.
On subsequent post-neck pours, the significant kick of oaky tannin bitterness remained and quickly replaced the very brief initial sweetness & fruit notes at the start of the sip.
ON THE PALATE (WITH 1-2 DROPS OF SMARTWATER FROM A GLENCAIRN PIPETTE & SWIRLING):
The drops of water significantly cut down on the bitterness and ginger spiciness/alcohol heat that came immediately after the initial sweetness on the sips before water was added. There is still a lower-level bitterness from the wooden barrel (mixed with sweetness & noticeably smoother than on the sips without the water) on the backend after the swallow, but it melds with the sweetness and a lower-level spicy heat (now more warming in its level than a “punch” of heat like it was without water). With the drops of water, the backend/finishing heat/spiciness is much more clearly like a strong raw ginger mixed oak tannins and black pepper than just ethanol heat (at the very end of the swallow, there is a hit of heat in the back of the throat and on the upper-back palate). On the tongue after the swallow there is also a hint of vegetal bitterness that I can’t quite identify.
The malty/peaty light smokiness and nutty flavors made themselves known again with the final swallow as I exhaled slowly. A good degree of residual heat remained on the sides of the tongue and in the throat after swallowing on subsequent post-neck pours. I didn’t get the milk chocolate some other tasters said they detected.
*Decent viscosity in the glass (but it doesn’t coat the sides for long) & nice mouthfeel, though the briefly creamy finish is fairly short.
*Used a Glencairn glass*
*I prefer the flavor profile of the Double Cask Reserve Single Malt (with water added) to the flavor profile of the regular Single Malt.*
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One response to “REVIEW – Virginia Distillery Company’s Courage & Conviction – Double Cask Reserve American Single Malt Whisky”
[…] in to straight scotch. I’ve reviewed the VDC selections I sampled, the Signature Single Malt, Double Cask Reserve, Cider Cask Finished blend, and the Port Cask Finished blend, and also wrote an update post. But […]
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