Metaphorically speaking, there comes a day for all of us when our need for water forces us to confront the dragon guarding the spring and offer it a goat or a sheep or something in order to get a few precious drops. Then there are those really bad days when you can’t find a goat or a sheep or something and have to toss the scaly beast a young maiden instead, which I think we can all agree is a waste of a young maiden. It’s those days in particular that we hope for some kind of St. George to come riding up and whack that hot-breathed lizard. Acting as liquid St. George to life’s myriad dragons…St. George’s Single Malt Whiskey.

Distilled purely from malted two-row barley, St. George’s take on the Scottish ideal is light, even sprightly and reminiscent of a Lowland malt. St. George set out to make a a lighter barley whiskey, not a heavily smoked or peated one and they’ve done it well. Aged primarily in used bourbon casks, they also use French oak and port casks to add more layers of complexity.

The Nose: Soft and clean, wonderful cocoa powder, perhaps a little cinnamon, a touch of citrus

The Palate: Incredibly smooth transition from what you get on the nose with a faintly oily or viscous mouthfeel.  Those cocoa notes are there to begin with but they slide into barley and grain notes. There’s a little fruit here, most of it of the baked variety, a touch raisin-y.

The Finish: Those barley and grain notes slide nicely into a medium long almost peppery finish that tapers off as smoothly as it all started.

Thoughts: A very unique whiskey, well-balanced and smooth.  There are a lot of interesting flavors here for a whiskey, I was on board from the first taste and just kept enjoying it more and more.  This is a delicious easy going dram, perfect for warm fall evenings on the porch with friends.

St. George Single Malt Whiskey, 43% ABV

Score:  86