Carolina Whisky

While my preferences fall squarely in the realm of single malt Scotch, I think it's important to recognize that there are a lot of new single malt American whisky bottlings coming around. The rise of independent whisky producers around the country is amazing, and some of them are really producing a quality product. Craft distilling has taken on a life of its own, and although North Carolina has some of the strictest distilling laws in the nation, some folks have found their way through the legal red tape to begin producing craft whisky here.

Today we'll look at two such offerings, TOPO Carolina Whiskey and Defiant American Single Malt Whisky.

First, TOPO Carolina Whiskey is an unfinished, unaged whiskey. It's made from 100% certified organic wheat, which is grown in North Carolina. TOPO is short for Top Of The Hill, a local restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina which turned micro-brewery some years ago. They've branched out into distilling, making Whiskey, Gin and Vodka with varying levels of success. The company sells the whiskey in unaged bottles and also has an "age-your-own" kit which comes with a small oak barrel for aging. This is becoming very common in the craft industry, as local laws require a certain percentage of the production each year to be sold. This makes stock piling spirits in barrels for aging quite difficult for some distillers who need to see black on the books in their first few years. I won't discuss the aged product this time, as mine is still aging to perfection right now...we'll come back to that some other time. Straight out of the bottle TOPO is a bit harsh, but that's pretty common with unaged product. The nose has very prominent cereal and grain notes, and a bit of floral aroma. The palate is more cereal, nuts and dry cut flowers, while the finish is rather short and harsh. Altogether it is not a bad drink, certainly more pleasing than other white "moonshine" whiskeys made in the Carolinas which are corn based. It's bottled at 84 proof, so it's a bit strong but not too bad. A splash of water really opens up the floral accents and cuts the heat on the tongue quite a bit.

Next we'll look at Defiant American Single Malt Whisky. Now this is a treat, a single malt American whisky which is made from 100% malted barley. The owners of the distillery are apparently huge Scotch fans and wanted to do this right from the beginning, mirroring the traditional Scotch style with American ingredients. While they too suffer from having to rush their product to the shelves, they at least manage to get some barrel time on their spirits. The bottle, nor their website for that matter, give any indication as to how much time the whisky spends in the barrel before bottling, or what types or sizes of casks are used. It is clear from the taste though that the whisky is fairly young, probably no more than a year or so in a smaller cask. The color is a light amber/copper, and the nose is very floral with hints of fresh cut hay. The palate is very nice, with nuts and fruits, and a bit of dry smoke. The finish is medium long, and rounds out nicely with a fair amount of oak and even a bit of citrus. This could really turn out nicely if they give it a bit more time in the wood and perhaps look at some finishing time in smaller, variant casks. I have really been enjoying the bottle I got, which came from cask #003. I expect good things from these folks!