VIRGINIA SINGLE MALT
Currently under construction, the 24,000 square foot facility will produce double-distilled single malt whisky using authentic, Scottish-made copper pot stills. Virginia Single Malt whisky will age on our property in charred American white oak casks previously used to age bourbon in nearby Kentucky — the same type of casks preferred in Scotland and in single malt distilleries worldwide.
They will slumber quietly on earthen floors for a minimum of three years turning from the clear, new spirit to subtle aged whisky with amber color and nuanced flavor.
THE TASTE OF VIRGINIA
What will emerge from those barrels will be a single malt whisky that is traditionally produced and unlike any other whisky to come before it. One of the intriguing aspects of any single malt whisky is that it is an expression of the land from which it comes. Virginia Single Malt whisky will taste as distinctive as the Commonwealth where it is made.
We in Virginia often lament the Commonwealth’s oppressively humid summers and dry cold winters, but, as whisky distillers, we welcome such extremes. As our whisky ages inside the cask, the dramatic fluctuations in temperature and humidity as the seasons change will cause the wood to expand and contract. These dynamic forces will draw the whisky into and out of the wood of the cask much faster than it would in a typical Scottish warehouse.
Compared to Virginia, Scottish weather is fairly constant with mild, relatively indistinguishable seasons. Based on the experience of other single malt distilleries in warm climates, we believe Virginia Single Malt whisky will mature faster than similar whisky would in Scotland. All speculations aside about aging whisky in the New World, we are committed to monitoring our whisky and waiting until it is fully mature.