Women Who Whiskey - Part I

I love the Scotch lads, and the journey to find the perfect Scotch has been amazing. With the recent scarcity of Talisker Storm, however, it has occurred to me that perhaps I should broaden my horizons. There are lot of whiskeys of different styles, tastes, and backgrounds, right here in my own state. Maybe spending more time with the fellows closer to home would be a refreshing change.

So when I heard of a nearby event - Women Who Whisky - this seemed like a perfect opportunity. There would be eight different local distilleries represented, each presenting a few different gentlemen, at least. Local options never fail to impress when it comes to music, so I expected it would be the same with the whiskey. The Sally Rose Band is a perfect example of the amazing local music that is around this area.

Sally is a talented musician, songwriter, and performer. Her music is funky and jazzy with beautiful southern soul melodies, and her band was scheduled to play at the whiskey tasting event. It was promising to be a wonderful time. I asked a friend to come along with me, and we planned to go for the day. Have a taste of what's local and listen to the Sally Rose Band perform Bones:

The event was very well planned and organized. It was hosted at Virginia Distillery, and run by the Virginia Distillers Association. Parking was off site, and we were shuttled by Cville Hop On Tours a few miles down the road to the tasting.

Every single person who was part of this event was super friendly. Our first experience of this was with Earl, the driver who shuttled us to the warehouse where the tasting was being held. His bus was bedazzled in stickers from all of the distilleries, breweries and vineyards he had travelled to.

The weather was great, the passengers were in good spirits, and it really set a great tone for the rest of the day. We were ready to meet some great new whiskies and have an amazing time doing it.

Something that I noticed right away about a lot of these local fellows, is that they were very natural. Many of the distilleries try to use only local ingredients and often organic as well. This is very impressive to me.

The first group we decided to meet was the Belle Isle brothers. Made from 100% organic corn, there were four there: Their original premium moonshine, ruby red grapefruit, honey habanero, and cold brew coffee flavors. I started with the original. A clear spirit, and its taste was sweet and spicy, sharp and creamy.

The first impression was a good one. My friend started a conversation with the coffee fellow, and I butted in a bit. One sip of the coffee moonshine, and I was enamored. But this was just the first stop. It was early in the day, and there were lots more boys to meet. We thanked the folks and moved on.

We moved to the other side of the room, trying to find the least crowded table, and we came to meet Kyle of Dickie Brothers Orchard. My friend noticed the circa 1750 on their banner and inquired about that very impressive date. We learned that the land was originally sold to the family by King George II and the farm has stayed family-owned for 8 generations.

Kyle was offering apple sauce for sale, but also samples of local pippin apples soaked in some of the Virginia Distillery's Highland Malt. They were delicious. I'd met the VA Highland about a year ago, and he was very lovely. Like a Scotch in almost all ways but name, he had previously been my favorite local whisky. I was curious to see if that would change.

Since we had a taste for the Highland, we soon went over to the VA Distillery's table to see who was there to meet. They had the Port Finished Highland (the one I knew and loved) and a brother of his - a Cider Cask Finished whisky.

Marian, who was pouring, introduced me. The brother was nice enough, and I could see having a lot of fun with him on a camping trip in the summer, for example, or something like that. But to me, he didn't measure up to the original. It had been a while though, and although we couldn't spend too much time together at this event, I made a mental note to seek out the VA Highland again before too long.

Time was flying by as we stopped and chatted with the folks who worked at the distilleries, and then met and chatted with the various different whiskies. There were a lot to meet! And it wasn't just whisky, there was also rum and vodka as well. As always with group gatherings like this, I never seem to have enough time with any one particular fellow to really get to know him.

I wasn't too worried though. I reminded myself that this was just a tasting - a meet and greet to see who I might want to chat up afterwards. So my friend and I sat down with a bit of whiskey in our glasses to listen to the band play for a while. We didn't sit for too long, though - this day was really just beginning!