Courage & Conviction PX Sherry Single Cask No. 1212

This whisky spent its whole life in a sherry cask. Plenty of sherried whiskies only meet a sherry cask at the end, as a finish. This one went into a sherry cask and stayed there. Virginia Distillery Co. matures its PX Sherry Single Casks entirely in former sherry casks from Jerez, Spain, that held Pedro Ximénez (PX), the thick, raisin-sweet style of sherry. Courage & Conviction is the distillery's all-Virginia line: malted barley mashed, distilled in Scottish copper pot stills and aged in Lovingston, at the foot of the Blue Ridge. It launched in 2020. The name is the founder's saying. Dr. George Moore, who died before the distillery was finished, liked to tell people to "have the courage of your convictions." Each single cask is a pick. Virginia Distillery says its blenders taste the PX casks as they age and set aside a few to bottle on their own, at cask strength, with no chill filtering and no added color. This bottle is cask No. 1212, and its strength is written by hand on the label. Pour it neat in a small glass and give it a few minutes before the first sip. Tasting Notes Nose: golden raisins, fig, butterscotch, shortbread Palate: honeyed baklava, leather, cinnamon, milk chocolate Finish: walnut brittle, honeycomb Bottle Specifications Category: American single malt whisky Age: No age statement (the producer says at least four years) Cask: Ex-Pedro Ximénez sherry casks from Jerez, full maturation Cask number: 1212 Proof / ABV: Cask strength, written by hand on the label (the producer's PX single casks have run 59.2% to 59.4%) Distillery: Virginia Distillery Co., Lovingston, Virginia Bottle size: 750ml FAQ What does PX mean? Pedro Ximénez, a white grape dried almost to raisins and made into a dark, very sweet sherry. This whisky aged in casks that had held it. What's the difference between a sherry finish and full sherry maturation? A finish is a short final stretch in a sherry cask after years in another barrel. This whisky spent its whole time in sherry casks. Why is the strength handwritten? Each cask is bottled at its own strength, so the cask number and ABV are filled in by hand for every cask. Good in a Manhattan and a hot toddy.