Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt Review [In Depth]
Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt
by: ALEX WANG
Founder, writer
Founder, writer
Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt Details
Distillery: Virginia Distilling Company
Type & Region: American Single Malt, Virginia, USA
Alcohol: 46%
Composition: 100% malted barley
Aged: At least 4 years
Color: 1.1/2.0 on the color scale (burnished)
Price: $80
From the company website:
Courage & Conviction Sherry Cask is an American Single Malt whisky distilled, matured, and bottled on-site at our distillery in Lovingston, Virginia. Aged a minimum of four years, this 100% malted barley whisky is matured in carefully selected former Sherry casks from Jerez, Spain – namely Pedro Ximénez, Fino, and Oloroso.
This whisky showcases its natural color and is not chill-filtered. On the nose, you’ll pick up scents of honeycomb, apricot, bright lemon, and sugared almonds. On the palate, a silky mouthfeel melds together flavors of hazelnut, soft leather, and toffee. The finish is a slow fade of soft caramel and baking spice.
Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt overview
I’ve lived in the DC area for years and seen various Courage and Conviction single malts on shelves, but this is the first time that I’m actually drinking something from a local-ish distillery. Admittedly, it would still take me ~3 hours to drive to the Virginia Distillery Company facility in Lovingston, so it’s not actually that local, but it’s still in a neighboring state. For reference, it’s probably 30 minutes away from Charlottesville, the home of the University of Virginia.
Virginia Distilling Company was founded in 2011 but did not start distilling till 2015. Since then, they have released a wide range of only American single malts matured and finished in various casks. You can see more or less their entire line here, and that doesn’t include their single barrel single malts.
The Alcohol Professor provides a brief history of the distillery, and Virginia Distillery Company’s own website provides surprisingly detailed information on American single malt whiskey.
You can skip the next few paragraphs if you already know about this, but I’m going to briefly educate you on American single malt. The short description is that it has many of the same rules as bourbon or rye, which include being made in the United States, maximum barreling proof (120 proof), maximum distillation proof (160 proof), and ABV of at least 40% ABV in the bottle, but there also are some important differences.
The first major difference is that American single malts are made with 100% malted barley instead of at least 51% corn (bourbon) or at least 51% rye (rye whiskey). It feels more like Single Malt Scotch, which is also made with 100% malted barley.
The part that is radically different to bourbon (but similar to how Scotch is classified) is that American single malt whiskeys can be aged in virgin white oak barrels (like bourbon or rye) as well as used casks (absolutely not allowed with bourbon or rye). This is where things get interesting because American single malts can be aged in a wide range of casks that impart very different characteristics, potentially getting some unique and interesting results.
This particular single malt was completely aged in ex-sherry casks. That’s a little vague because sherry is a surprisingly diverse and varied type (or should I say types) of fortified wine from Spain.
There are the lighter colored ones such as example Fino and Amontillado that are similar to a Chardonnay (I think people are less familiar with these) and then there are the dark and often “sickeningly” sweet ones (I think this is what people usually associate with sherry) such as Oloroso and Pedro Jimenez. I really like sherry, I just don’t drink it that often.
But when something is matured / finished in a sherry cask, it usually means in a cask that previously held darker sherry (e.g., Oloroso, Pedro Jimenez). In this case, we are told that this single malt was aged in Pedro Ximénez (another accepted spelling of the very sweet Sherry), Fino (one of the lightest varieties that’s akin to Chardonnay), and Oloroso (a sweeter type) casks.
I expect that the darker varieties will overpower the lighter Fino. This means that you can expect darker scents and flavors such as dates, prunes, caramel, and cinnamon, and Fino may not appear at all.
Let’s find out what this marriage of Virginia and Spain is like in this Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt whiskey review.
This sample was provided at no cost to me. All opinions are still my own.
As an FYI, I bought and use these Glencairn glasses for everything (they’re the best): Glencairn Crystal Whiskey Glass Set of 6, Set of 4, Set of 2, or just one. Full transparency, this is an affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt smell
I smell honey, light to moderate date, toasted malt, toasted oak, vanilla, cinnamon, blueberry, candied orange peel, and nutmeg. The sherry cask finish already smells better than the bourbon cask.
The scents are somewhat fragrant and enjoyable, but they still are fairly closed off and not that expressive, which is unfortunately the same as the bourbon cask single malt. The sherry provides some more dark fruit and sweetness and spice that makes it more interesting, but it’s still overall too subdued.
After swirling and rest, I smell toasted honey and malt, dried date, toasted oak, creamy vanilla, candied orange peel, and nutmeg. The sherry continues to come through with the dark and spiced fruits, creamy vanilla, and spice.
Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt has the underpinnings of a good malt, but this is not where it needs to be yet. This is just too closed off to be that enjoyable. It’s certainly not a bad or flawed smelling American single malt, but it just doesn’t do enough to get me into it.
This just feels like a young (or at least not developed enough) single malt that needs a few more years in oak to become more expressive and strengthen its character.
Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt taste and aftertaste
I taste honey, fresh cherries, toasted malt and oak, dates, candied orange peel, vanilla, cinnamon, and dry oak. This definitely tastes better than the bourbon cask finished single whiskey too, with a bit more influence from the sherry that provides more dark fruitiness, candied orange peel, and sweetness.
Unfortunately, the dryness between the oak and malt creates a bit of an imbalance here. The sweetness and dark fruitiness are good but not quite strong enough to offset the dryness.
There are some things to like and others that could be better…good / decent but not great.
“Chewing” brings out honey, cherry, creamy vanilla, toasted malt, roasted oak, cinnamon, candied orange peel, and nutmeg. It opens up the creaminess that malt and sherry both provide, plus pulls out a little more dark fruit sweetness and subdues the oak.
The finish leaves honey, dried dates, toasted malt and oak, and cinnamon with lingering lightly sweet honey, cherry, dryness, and spice.
This is better, but still not great. The flavors still feel too subdued and straightforward, but again I can feel that the foundation is there. It needs a bit more of everything (except the oak) to provide a worthy experience.
I’ve unfortunately lost some Glencairn’s while in transit, and that made me very sad. So, I wised up and bought this Glencairn Travel Case that comes also comes with 2 glasses so I don’t need to worry so much about them breaking. I think it’s great, and I think you’ll love it too.
Seriously, if you already have glasses, protect them.
Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt Rating
Ok where to start…Courage and Conviction Sherry Cask American Single Malt is clearly better than the bourbon cask version (to me at least), but it has many of the same shortcomings too. It’s almost a “Mid Shelf+” experience (and possibly on a different day I would have gotten there), but enough is missing to not propel me there.
The sherry adds a bit more fullness and sweetness, but the closed off and flat personality make this tough to really enjoy and savor. There probably is really good stuff in there somewhere, but it’s tough to get it to appear.
The base single malt still feels too young, too closed off, and too simple. I still somewhat enjoy it so there isn’t an issue with “bad” or “off” whiskey, but I think it’s fair to want and expect more.
Simply put, this is an easy pass. If you want an outstanding American single malt for less, buy Minden Mill American Single Malt for $70, assuming that you can get it at all. The sherry finish is bolder, flavors are way fuller, and overall it’s just worth buying.
This one needs to be $30-40 less or a heck of a lot better to be worth it.
Meet the Author: Alex
I have far too much fun writing about whiskey and singlehandedly running The Whiskey Shelf to bring you independent, honest, and useful reviews, comparisons, and more. I’m proudly Asian American and can speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and some Japanese.
There are no sponsors, no media companies, and no nonsense. Support The Whiskey Shelf by Buying Me A Shot.
Shattered glass really sucks, so if you’re on the move, this Glencairn-like stainless steel snifter glass should survive your travels. Full transparency, this is an Amazon affiliate link, so I may earn a commission if you buy this or something else from Amazon.
BrüMate NOS’R, Double-Wall Stainless Steel Whiskey Nosing Glass – 7oz (Matte Black)
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