Revisiting VHW Port Cask Finished Single Malt Whisky – A New Tasting Notes Review

It’s been quite a journey for me with single malt whiskies specifically and whiskies in general. Earlier this autumn, the dominant flavor notes for me on the palate were (wet) wood, the oak/barrel notes. For single malts, the flavor profiles were dominated by the malt, which oftentimes comes across to me as a kind of “bready smokiness,” for lack of a better description, not to be confused with peat.

In late September, the penny dropped for me with American single malts thanks to persistent spaced-out (over time) tasting sessions with multiple mini bottles of the Virginia Distillery Company’s VHW and Courage & Conviction lines. You can read about that HERE.

What follows is a new, revised tasting notes retrospective from September up until today with a new tasting notes-taking session with the VHW single malt blend of Virginia single malt whisky and sourced scotch whisky finished in port casks.

On the nose without water drops from a Glencairn pipette, the aroma profile is dominated by fresh and dried red fruits and figs, reminiscent of a red berry jam and fig newtons. Specifically, I get dark cherries and black currants, black raisins, and dried figs. There are also baking spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom, a hint of vanilla, some earthiness, and a hint of spicy ginger. With a couple drops of water, the aroma profile is led by cordial-like red fruits and dark chocolate with hints of vanilla, with the pepper and spicy ginger notes noticeably decreased.

Tonight, using a Glencairn glass and leaving the whisky to aerate for between 30-40 minutes before sipping neat, the aroma profile remains dominated by a mix of red fruits, dried fruits (still like fig newtons), a lemony citrus, oak/barrel notes and baking spices, some pepper, and malt.

On the palate, the flavor profile remains much the same. It is led by red fruit sweetness with a lemony citrus followed quickly by malt and oak/barrel notes and spices, a hit of black pepper and spicy ginger, some alcohol/ethanol, a hit of oak tannin bitterness which is balanced out by the fruit sweetness, and malt with a light smokiness. The flavor profile is a mix of three main elements: (1) red fruit-forward sweetness with some dried figs & raisins mixed with lemony citrus, (2) oak/barrel notes including barrel spice, baking spices, and black pepper, and (3) malt notes including a light smokiness on the swallow of a sip.

As I have experimented with different types of whiskies since the early autumn, including different types of bourbon and, most recently, a PX sherry cask-finished rye whisky, as well as scotch and other American single malts and single malt blends, my tasting notes baseline has expanded. Coming from agave spirits, which remain my core love in the spirits world, I now appreciate much more grain-based spirits (or “grain water” spirits as I call them to whisky-lovers). A testament to the growth in my spirits appreciation is best exemplified perhaps by the fact that I have since purchased full-sized 750 ml bottles of the VHW port and apple cider cask-finished single malt blends and a number of the Courage & Conviction line of American single malts. The Virginia Distillery Company and single malts will forever hold a special place in my spirits journey, one which I hope to look back fondly on in the distant future.

Cheers!