Chattanooga Whiskey White Port Cask Finished Bourbon Review

Chattanooga Whiskey is one of those brands whose name has continuously floated past me for years, without ever permanently lodging in my consciousness. I’ve heard praise for some of their releases, particularly in recent years, but never really looked into the company closely enough to recognize what an interesting oddity they really are–a Tennessee distillery focused on bourbon, rather than the somewhat nebulous title of “Tennessee whiskey,” but one with a house bourbon whiskey style all their own. That style is what they refer to as “Tennessee high malt,” incorporating a wider variety of not just malted barley but other specialty malted grains that the bigger commercial bourbon industry rarely explores. And in tasting their new Chattanooga Whiskey White Port Cask Finished Bourbon, their philosophy has immediately grabbed my attention. In fact … it might be something akin to genius? It’s either that, or I’m just really impressed and pleasantly surprised by this bottle. A bottle that costs a mere $60, by the way.

Chattanooga Whiskey was founded way back in 2011, though for the first few years of the company’s lifespan it was sourcing bourbon, like so many others, from the mega-distillers of MGP of Indiana. They really had no choice, considering that distillation in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, TN, wasn’t yet legal at the time. Activism on behalf of the distillers finally opened up legal distillation in the county in 2013, after which the company built its first experimental distillery and began refining their Tennessee high malt style.

This release, meanwhile, is part of the annual Barrel Finishing Series, which blends together multiple Chattanooga Whiskey high malt mash bills in a rotating series of barrel finishes that has included past entries such as Tawny Port, cabernet and Islay scotch casks. This year involves the more subtle white port casks, sourced from the Carrazeda de Ansiães region of Portugal. Its combo of mash bills has a lot going on, incorporating both rye bourbons and two wheated bourbons, but with individual mash bills including everything from “dark malted wheat” and “oak-smoked malted wheat” to malted rye and “green malted barley.” Suffice to say, they’re clearly aiming for a depth of malt complexity here. This was aged a relatively short three years initially, but then spent more than two years in the port casks, which is a very long time indeed for a younger bourbon, before being bottled at 47.5% (95 proof). The result is a whiskey that has been totally transformed, which isn’t always a compliment … but in this case it certainly is.

So with that said, let’s get into tasting this particularly alluring, port-finished bourbon.

On the nose, this dram displays deep, rich caramel that is immediately enticing. There’s a sweet, cooked maltiness, slightly syrupy in nature, along with stewed plums, aromatic cinnamon and hints of spicy oak. Ethanol is almost entirely absent, allowing you to nose very deeply. The toastiness of it is very engaging and comforting, with biscuite-like tones that merge into brown butter and vanilla with hints of allspice. It’s all very accessible, thanks to the integration of the booze, which is super impressive with a younger age statement like this.

On the palate, the deep dark fruitiness and stone fruit flavors stride to the forefront, with bruleed plum and peach met by toasted oak and dusted with cinnamon brown sugar. The malty sweetness enhances waves of ripe red fruit and vinous notes, tempered by supporting spice and trailing pepperiness. Subtle flourishes include hints of earthiness and very subtle smoke. The overall impression is rich without feeling “unearned” or overtly sugary. This really reflects the best possible attributes that the cask likely had available to impart, in my opinion.

All in all, I frankly find this release to be extremely impressive, one of the best surprises I’ve had in recent memory. It certainly makes me curious to taste more of the year-round Chattanooga Whiskey lineup, though I don’t know if any of them could match up with the beautiful synthesis that is on display here. Regardless, it’s also a frankly fantastic value for a cask-finished annual release. If I saw this around me for $60, I would jump on that opportunity immediately.

Distillery: Chattanooga Whiskey
City: Chattanooga, TN
Style: Straight bourbon whiskey
ABV: 47.5% (95 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml 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.