SHORT REVIEW: VDC Cabernet Cask Select – American Single Malt Whisky

The Virginia Distillery Company (VDC) has done much to put my home state on the map for American single malts. With recently rebranded labels and a 700 ml bottle, the “VDC” series includes a number of standard shelf releases for the distillery including this VDC Cabernet Cask Select. Bottled at 93 proof (46.5% ABV) and using Blue Ridge Mountain spring water, it is made with 100% American malted barley, 2x-distilled in Scotland-made, hand-hammered copper pot stills with long necks, and is aged for a minimum of 5 years in 1st-fill bourbon barrels before being finished in French and Virginian Cabernet Sauvignon wine casks. A dark gold color in the glass, the whisky is protected from evaporation by a super snug-fitting artificial cork.

The VDC uses a Boby Mill to split the grain into three parts to produce grist, which is then combined with water and yeast. The VDC’s master blender, Amanda Beckwith, makes cuts to the distillate’s heads, hearts, & tails from stored distilled whisky kept in the distillery’s spirit safe, which was also made in Scotland in the style used to produce scotch.

Beckwith trained under whisky master blenders Nancy Fraley, Harry Cockburn, and the late Dr. Jim Swan. Fraley is currently Still Austin’s master blender. Cockburn formerly the production director for Morrison Bowmore Distillers in Scotland & lead engineer for the VDC’s distilling & production systems from 2011 until his retirement in 2018. Swan was a renowned Scottish chemist & biologist with a Ph.D. from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, a widely regarded expert on single malt whiskies. He co-developed, in 1979, the first whisky flavor wheel & he also extensively researched how climate, in particular heat, affects whisky fermentation, distillation, & aging.

Virginia’s temperature variation between cold during the winter to very hot & humid summers allow for a faster rate of aging than is possible in more consistently cooler climates like Scotland’s. The main VDC’s aging houses hold up to 5,000 casks each.

COLOR: Light yellow (like apple juice)

NOSE: The aroma profile is defined by super bright, juicy red & dark berries, plums, apricots, creamy dark chocolate, sweet malt, candied ginger & allspice, hints of sweet but still tangy citrus, a light smokiness, & a sweet oakiness. The alcohol is very light on the nose.

PALATE: The sip begins with a brief initial fruity sweetness of red & dark berries before quickly transforming into a more tart berry & tannic grape note mixed with dry allspice/baking spices, citrus peel, candied ginger, and prominent malt & woody/oak & pine (cedar) notes with a lightly smokey backbone. What comes across as a creamy dark chocolate on the nose shifts a bit on the palate to become a bittersweet but still smooth dark chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder. The palate is not nearly as sweet as the aroma profile suggests it will be, but there is a definite fruity & malty sweetness that remains throughout the entirety of the sip.

FINISH: Medium (6-7 seconds) with vestiges of the malt, oak/pine, & light smokiness remaining a couple seconds longer.

MOUTHFEEL: Good viscosity with tears running slowly down the sides of the glass.

VALUE: Delicious, dark & deep flavors for around $40 in my area – a deal.

ALWAYS ON SHELF/BUY AGAIN? Yes.