Virginia Distilling Co. Port Cask vs Tomatin 14yo
Port Cask Finish Comparison | 46% ABV
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
A busy cask is no substitute for age
Age has its benefits
Virginia Beach, Virginia, is a home away from home for me - I’ve had family there for as long as I can remember. Road trips to “VAB” have been the norm throughout my life – first as a child, and later as a father who brought his own children.
For those without friends or family there, Virginia Beach is usually seen as a vacation destination and attracts people to its sun and surf. Despite the fact the beaches are largely hidden by the continual string of hotels along Atlantic Avenue for some three or four miles, the great expanse of beach lures folk from near and far. Each year, families come to holiday and spend quality time together. College students descend on this strip of land each “spring break” for a bacchanalia fuelled by hormones, beer, and cheap liquor. (My apologies to the local board of tourism – just speaking truth.) But there is much more to VAB.
In addition to the stretch of sand and surf, there’s a good deal of history in and around the area. Even along the hotel strip there remain some glimmers of what was once posh and elegant from the not-too-distant past. If that’s your interest, the focal point of reliving luxurious days of yore along the strip is The Cavalier Hotel (now, The Cavalier Resort).
Ah, The Cavalier. It’s a grand hotel from the days of Gatsby. Built in 1927, it’s a grand and sprawling building that’s hosted presidents and countless luminaries. It fell into disrepair in the 1970s and was resurrected to its luxurious status thanks, in large part, to community involvement to preserve the historical building and grounds. Why am I waxing eloquent about a five-star accommodation? I do so, as it was here I was introduced to an up-and-coming new American single malt.
A few years back, as I was heading out for a trip to VAB, a buddy told me I might find some interesting amber liquid at The Cavalier. While in Virginia Beach, he said I needed to go as they had their own in-house distillery. And so, when I made that trip, I dutifully made my way to The Cavalier.
I walked into the building’s grand foyer and the beauty and opulence made me stop for a second. I remember taking a moment to look around – not only due to the architecture and luxurious appointments, but also in wondering if security would be coming to escort me to a room for “the rabble”. Perhaps an exaggeration… but I did feel as if I was a pair of brown socks in a room of tuxedos.
In the basement of The Cavalier – “basement” seems very common… let’s call it the “ground floor” – there are a few places to visit for people not staying at the hotel. One is the Tarnished Truth Distillery. Unfortunately, thanks to lack of planning, we were there on a day when the distillery tasting and tours weren’t open (they are available Thursdays through Sundays for those that are interested). As we didn’t have the luck of doing the tour and tasting, we went down the hall to the Hunt Room, billed as a social club and tavern.
Here, we had a few delicious bourbons and as we were enjoying some samples, I saw some bottles of single malt from a local Virginia distillery I’d not known previously: Virginia Distillery Co. I shifted from bourbon and tried the Virginia Distilling’s port cask finished single malt. I remember thinking it was interesting. Something that had potential; though to my taste, it was sharp. I remember looking up Virginia Distillery Co. on my phone as I was unfamiliar with the label. At that time, the Virginia Distillery Co. was less than a decade old and was founded in 2011. We enjoyed ourselves, finished our rounds, and then went on our way to rendezvous with family.
Fast forward to December 2022.
As I was making my way down an aisle of single malt, looking for a few Christmas gifts for friends and family, I found a bottle of the Virginia Distillery Co.’s port cask that was marked down on sale. I remembered my time at The Cavalier, recalled my positive thoughts and wondered if it, in fact, had improved and mellowed with some older stock and/or better finishing. I’d recently been enjoying a bottle of Tomatin 14 year old port cask finish (as evidenced by the photos here). So I bought the Virginia Distilling bottle as I was curious to see not only if that expression had improved, but also to see how it stacked up against my Tomatin.
Review 1/2
Virginia Distilling Co., Port Cask Finish Blended Malt, 46% ABV
US$48 (£39) Paid.
There’s no indication on the bottle (nor on the website) if this is chill filtered or if it has added colour. I reached out to the distillery and was told Virginia Distilling Co. never chill filters and never adds colour. It’s an all-natural presentation.
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
Coming along with noticeable progression
Nose
Fruit and stone fruits: red delicious apple. There are scents of prune Danish. Malt and honey are there along with a cherry cough drop. In the background, but noticeably so, there’s an ethanol presence.
Palate
Sweet and a bit thin but not terribly so. Fruit and spice with a light but distinct prune Danish flavour at the start. The apple and cherry cough drop blend together and the port is evident, but the tongue also registers flavours of dates and leather. The finish is tingling with spice such as cloves, cinnamon. It’s a good dram, but starting at mid-palate and building toward the finish, there’s a slow-building of ethanol tinge that reveals some hard edges.
Score: 6/10
Review 2/2
Tomatin 14yo, Port Cask Finish Single Malt, 46% ABV
US$58 (£48) Paid.
The Tomatin not only bears an age statement, it’s also non-chill filtered, natural colour and tells us so on the bottle. Good start.
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
A measure better
Nose
Such a difference compared to the Virginia Distilling bottle. Not better or worse – just different. Remarkable that two port cask finished single malts can be this different. The first hit I get on the nose is a lactic funk. I’m a sucker for funk, so all is good. Over-ripe/fermented peaches and cherries. Apricot preserve, orange rind and stewed fruits. Strangely enough, I can’t escape the thought of a tangy sensation. Not sure what that is, but I like it. Overall, sweet and funky.
Palate
Elegant. Whisky writers tend to avoid the word “smooth”, but I’m having a hard time coming up with another word. Honey and burned caramel blend with rich red berry preserve. There’s a sense of strawberries with some sort of mellow spice - perhaps cardamom. Balanced. The tangy note appears to have translated into a rich overlay on the tongue. A bit of spice coming at the finish, but it’s well incorporated with no edges.
Score: 6/10
The Dregs
There’s nothing like the perspective given by tasting two whiskies side by side - especially two whiskies of similar profile.
The progress made by Virginia Distilling in this expression is quite noticeable. This pour is rather good and I’m enjoying this bottle - It’s developed and improved since I first tried it at The Cavalier. This bottle is a blend of sourced Scottish single malt and single malt distilled on-site at Virginia Distilling. There is no age statement here so all I can verify is that the malt of undetermined age in my glass has spent a minimum of one year in port wood - specifically, batches spend time in port-style wine casks from Virginia as well as in tawny port casks. How long the single malt has aged in barrels outside of the port casks is unknown. I’d hazard a guess, based on the less-than rounded edges at the end of the sip, that we’re talking about four or five year stock. That said, it is nice, and at $48 for a bottle, I’ve no complaints. If I had this by itself, I might still think about the sharp edges but would certainly enjoy my dram. This would pair well with a cigar or a pipe, and I’m keen to try that combination.
The Tomatin, on the other hand, makes me realise and appreciate nuances a distillery that’s been operating since the 19th Century can bring to the table. I understand the up and down history of Tomatin, as well as its resurrection at the end of the 20th Century and the manner with which this distillery has re-committed itself – see Aqvavitae’s vPub from July 1, 2021). Unlike the Virginia Distilling bottle, I don’t have information to know how long the Tomatin malt spends in port pipes. However, the one large difference between the two – and clearly, to me, the primary difference – is the Tomatin distillate has mellowed more than 14 years of ageing in bourbon and port wood. I understand whiskies from warmer and more humid climates can age rapidly (Balcones from Texas and Rampur from India are but two examples). However, four or five years (my guess) of ageing in the Virginia landscape doesn’t seem to replicate or adequately compete with the results from 14 years of ageing in the Scottish Highlands.
For goodness’ sake, my bottle of Tomatin was put in a barrel approximately three years before Virginia Distilling Co. was even established. So, while I’m performing a head-to-head tasting of port cask finished single malts, right off the bat there’s a huge difference. It may very well be that, over time, Virginia Distilling will be able to match (and perhaps surpass) its older Scottish brother, Tomatin. While the Virginia Distilling bottle continues to build promise and improve, it’s not quite there yet.
Of course, there may also be a palpable difference in the house styles of each distillery. That would be another significant point to explain differences here. However, I’m limited to the two bottles in front of me. While the flavours of both are good, the contrast of sharp versus incorporated at the finish of each leads me to believe the difference in age is the primary factor in the dissonance here.
The Virginia Distilling bottle is good and the Tomatin is a measure better. And, with the escalation of prices that we’ve seen recently, being able to access good bottles at these prices make these whiskies that much more appealing.
I look forward to being a beneficiary of tasting Virginia Distilling’s maturation over the years as well as continuing to see if/how the Tomatin port cask matures and changes over time. Maybe the younger brother will be just like his older brother. Or, as it matures, maybe it will – as many siblings do – make its own way into something wonderful and unique. Regardless, I’ve no doubt this will be an interesting ride.
Score: 6/10
Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. OS
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