For many years, Chattanooga Whiskey has been a brand that has consistently caught my attention without becoming a permanent fixture in my mind. Despite hearing positive reviews for some of their products, especially in the recent past, I never really took the time to delve deeper into the brand and understand its unique nature. You see, this is a Tennessee distillery that is more interested in bourbon than the somewhat vague category of “Tennessee whiskey”. What’s more, they have their own unique style of bourbon whiskey, which they call “Tennessee high malt”. This involves the use of a greater variety of not only malted barley, but other special malted grains typically overlooked by the larger bourbon industry. My interest was instantly piqued after trying their new Chattanooga Whiskey White Port Cask Finished Bourbon. To be honest, their approach might just be pure genius, or maybe I’m just extremely impressed and pleasantly surprised by this bottle. By the way, this bottle costs a fair $60.

Founded back in 2011, Chattanooga Whiskey, like many other brands, sourced its bourbon from MGP of Indiana’s large distilleries during its initial years. This was primarily due to the fact that distillation was not legally permitted in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, TN at the time. However, thanks to the efforts of the distillers, distillation was legalized in the county in 2013, after which the company set up its first experimental distillery and began refining its Tennessee high malt style.

The Chattanooga Whiskey White Port Cask Finished Bourbon is part of the annual Barrel Finishing Series. This series focuses on a dynamic assortment of barrel finishes, which over the years has included Tawny Port, Cabernet, and Islay Scotch variants. This year’s offering involves subtle white port casks, obtained from the Carrazeda de Ansiães region in Portugal. This whiskey combines different Chattanooga Whiskey high malt mash bills. Although it includes both rye bourbons and two wheated bourbons, the product incorporates varietal mash bills ranging from “dark malted wheat” and “oak-smoked malted wheat” to malted rye and “green malted barley”. The brand certainly aims for a complex malt profile with this whiskey. Initially aged for a relatively short three years, the whiskey then matured for an additional two years in port casks. This is rather long for a younger bourbon. The result is a whiskey that underwent a complete transformation, and this change is definitely a positive feature in this case.

Having shared this background, let’s delve into the tasting of this captivating, port-finished bourbon.

This dram offers a deep, rich caramel aroma that is instantly captivating. You’ll also detect a sweet, slightly syrupy malt, along with plums, aromatic cinnamon and spicy oak. The near absence of ethanol allows for a thorough nosing experience. The enticing toastiness, with biscuit-like tones blending into brown butter and vanilla, also sprinkled with allspice, is impressively accessible thanks to well-integrated alcohol, which is remarkable given its young age.

Once you take a sip, the dark fruitiness and stone fruit flavors immediately take center stage, featuring caramelized plum and peach mingling with toasted oak and sprinkled with cinnamon brown sugar. The malty sweetness amplifies waves of ripe red fruit and wine-like notes, balanced with spice and an end note of pepperiness. Additional subtle undertones consist of earthiness and a hint of smoke. Its overall vibe is gratifyingly rich without coming off as undeservedly sweet or overly sugary. I believe this brilliantly mirrors the best qualities the cask had to offer.

Personally, I find this release tremendously remarkable, it’s one of the most pleasant surprises I’ve had lately. It indeed sparks my interest to sample more from the customary Chattanooga Whiskey collection, even though I question if any of them could compare with the beautiful blend presented here. Moreover, it’s an impressive bargain for an annual cask-finished release. If I saw it locally for $60, I wouldn’t hesitate to grab it.

Distillery: Chattanooga Whiskey

City: Chattanooga, TN

Style: Straight bourbon whiskey

ABV: 47.5% (95 proof)

Availability: Limited, 750ml bottles, $60 MSRP

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer and liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.

GET PASTE RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX

The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more.