Chattanooga Whiskey Barrel Finishing Series: Islay Scotch Cask Finish

The Devil went down to Georgia. By Devil here, of course, I mean my wife. She went to visit family, and before she left, she said, is there any whisky down there you can't get up here that you might want? I said, "Keep an eye out for Chattanooga, particularly the Islay finished version." I've wanted to get my hands on some Chattanooga ever since I saw this horror movie After Midnight (the movie is a great Horror Romance that, well, if you like horror isn't a bad one to watch around Valentine's Day...let's just leave it at that). Anyway, the guys in that movie go to the bar and drink Chattanooga 1816, and for some reason, maybe just the shape of the bottle or maybe because of how much I liked the movie, I wanted some too. And while my wife was down there, she came across the Islay finished so she picked up two bottles, and when she went to the counter, the guy told her that they had some Chattanooga Founder's Reserve in the back, so she came home with three bottles. Major score there. And last night I popped open the Islay. Damn this is good. I mean, it's right up my alley. Hudson released a rye last year that was finished in Islay barrels, and I enjoyed that, and I gave it a high score because of just how unique it was. But this one, this Chattanooga Islay finished is better. At first, I had trouble telling why I liked it so much. The nose was amazingly sweet and savory at the same time, but while I could tell that the savory was coming from the peat smoke influence, I couldn't tell what the sweetness was. It was candied and fruity, but it took me a minute to place the candied fruitiness as banana because I've never had a whisky that mixed those two aromas. I suppose you could also describe it as bubble gum, like a nice wad of Hubba Bubba. It's also got a nice woodiness counterbalanced with spice on the palate with a nice lingering peppery finish. This is one of those whiskies where, now that it's open, I'm going to want to drink it above all the other whiskies I have open, but then, it'll go too quick and I won't have it anymore. But wait, indeed I will, as I have that second bottle to hold onto for a day in the future when I want to do it all over again. That's the thing about bringing home whisky from a thousand miles away: if it's great, you can't get your hands on it all that easily. And with this being limited edition, well, I guess I need to savor it while I can. If you live in a region where this is available, pick up a bottle. Honestly, if I lived in a place where this was available, I'd pick up as many as I could, but you know I'm a sucker for the peat whether its an Islay scotch or merely the influence of Islay on an American whisky. It's probably not for everyone. And that leaves more for those of us who'll appreciate it.

For our quarterly virtual tasting with @PBMichiganWolverine , @ctbeck11 , @Richard-ModernDrinking and @Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington , @PBMichiganWolverine was kind enough to treat us to a round the world assortment of drams. First was a single cask IB 14 year Tamdhu (Scotland) Second was the 2022 Chichibu Peated Edition (Japan) Third was the Chattanooga Islay Finish (America) that was bottled at 47.5% ABV. The nose is a mildly rich and smoky treat that the creamy caramel and stewed fruits are upfront but underscored by a mild smoke that fades to chocolate covered candied nuts and light leather with medium ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel with the mild smoke upfront with a light bitterness that fades to butterscotch caramel over flambéed apples followed by freshly lit pipe tobacco and light flinty minerality then mildly sour and creamy citrus that transitions to mildly bitter black tea with medium ethanol burn. The finish is medium length starting mildly smoky that fades to the background as the creamy fruits emerge along with butterscotch caramel and mild earthy notes. This poor dram came after the Chichibu and was a hard transition that the smoke was hard to find after a very smokey dram and tasted mildly astringent. Revisiting it tonight by itself allows for the smoke and flavors to really shine through and I'm very impressed by what the team at Chattanooga accomplished with the Islay cask adding mild smokey notes that are balanced with those traditional bourbon flavors. Now I am hopeful that they will take this experiment to the next stage and release a cask strength version for some of us proof hounds, as I'd love to try this as a bigger, bolder and richer edition.

This is my introduction to Chattanooga distillery, and I won’t bury the lede by stating plainly and upfront that it will not be my last. I love Scotch. I’m developing a very deep relationship with bourbon and American whisky. I saw this and realized I had to give it a go. Nose takes some work to hunt out, but is worth it and very unique: Cedar chest, pine tar, powdered candy (runts, or maybe sugar straws?) and a running undercurrent of Old English furniture polish. Push too deep in the glass though and you’ll be quickly reminded this is young, and the ethanol is happy to say hello. Palate opens warm and crawls up the tongue dropping flavors along the way…pine and honey at the front, a splash of salt then caramel at the midway point, and finally a dryness almost like grapefruit at the close, all underscored by smoke and just the faintest bit of peat sweetness. I’ll admit that it took me a while to warm to this. It’s not bourbon. It’s not Scotch. At times it tastes similar to one or the other but that’s as close as it gets. I usually like bourbon for rich sweetness and Scotch for either herbal or meatiness (and of course the peat!), and this is neither. But I’m (now) okay with that, because overall I think it’s pretty damn good.

I went to a Bourbon and American Whiskey tasting party, where i got the opportunity to taste some rare expressions, and one of them was a Chattanooga Whiskey, my first from this Tennessee distillery, but this one was very special, because it was matured in an Islay Scotch Cask. I have already told you that after studying the subject a lot, peat ppm does not come from "peated water" or charred casks, but from kilning peat to smoke the barley. Having said that, an Islay Cask can't give enough peat ppm by only imparting the flavors and aromas that have sticked into the oak staves. But this whiskey is about to prove me wrong. On the nose, it has the peat aroma i love!, wet Converse shoes; cigarrette, smoke and actual peat. It resembles a lot to an Ardmore which is mildly peated. On the palate, crushed almonds. Smoke in a very aromatic way, it reminds me a lot to a Bowmore. Cotton. Aftertaste is delicious. Smoke, raisins, tamed aromatic peat and hospital gauze and tape. Overall, a surprising whiskey, i really had no expectations out of this one and i got impressed by it. It is obvious that the peaty profile has come from the Islay cask, that imparted a mild appearance of peat. Nice dram, my score for it is 92 over 100.

If all you had your entire life were hamburgers, hotdogs, and plain spaghetti, you’d be in an awakening when you have masala curry, ceviche , sushi, or schezuan. The overload of flavors will introduce you to a wild ride. I remember in one of Trevor Noah’s standup comedies—-he said as a kid, all he had was some grilled chicken for lunch. But one day, his friend introduced him to curry chickpeas and buttery garlic naan. That opened up a whole new world of flavors and experiences beyond what he was normally used to. That’s like this whiskey here. The Islay casking brings a range of flavors so unique and wild, you sort of wonder if it’s really American whiskey in your glass. Nose isn’t Islay. It’s not American. It’s something else. Sweet, no wait…tabacco shop? Wait. No. Salty sea spray. Palette is just as wild. Ashy, barbecue, some sweet corn…cigars. Wow. This is a must try. It’s my first exposure to Chattanooga, but this experiment of theirs is a home run. I’m not sure if it’s repeatable…a lot has to do with those unique casks they got a hold of. If you see this—-buy on sight. For a mere $65, this is a MUST BUY.

Aroma- big peat and honey. Some cracked black pepper in the back, slight baking spices. Man… as this opens up.. it gets super complex… the smoke is still there but now I’m getting tropical notes and tons of caramel and vanilla. Very interesting Taste- Wow… extremely thin mouthfeel but extremely long scotch finish. There was nothing upfront… mid palate is sweet fruit, salted caramel, baking spices, cinnamon then the finish is all Smokey scotch slight heat from the alcohol as well. Feels a bit hotter than 95 proof. Overall- Not a huge fan of peated scotch, but this is honestly fantastic. It’s got just enough sweetness from the oak and vanilla in the bourbon (mixed in with some spices) and just enough smoke on the finish to make this a terrific marriage. Very unique and absolutely worth seeking out. Great for those who are interested in Scotch and great for those who are looking for something new. The 95 proof is a bit interesting… the thinness was to be expected at 95, but the heat on the finish seems like it would be north of 100.