Courage & Conviction American Single Malt Whiskey Review | Whiskey Raiders
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90
American

Courage & Conviction American Single Malt Whiskey

  • Distiller:

    VA Distillery

  • Bottler:

    VA Distillery

  • ABV:

    46%

  • Age:

    3 Years

  • Price:
    $$$$$
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Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 90
  • Publication: Whiskey Raiders
  • Excerpt: VA Distillery's Courage & Conviction American Single Malt whiskey demonstrates incredible complexity for the age in a release that shattered expectations and delivered a tasty dram.
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  • Raided Score: 91
  • Publication: Whiskey Consensus
  • Excerpt: This is one of the most balanced American Single Malts I have tried to date, with a pleasant nose, complex palate, and good finish.
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  • Raided Score: 84
  • Publication: Whisky Monster
  • Excerpt: For a 3 year old whisky, this expression of Courage & Conviction is incredible. However, I will keep my love a little bit muted, since I tasted their future Cuvêe Cask expression’s ‘in progress’ phase. I can honestly tell than, when the cask expressions for Courage & Conviction hit the market, they will change the American single malt culture.
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  • Raided Score: 96
  • Publication: Drinkhacker
  • Excerpt: This is an American single malt that easily stands up to some of the best from overseas.
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  • Raided Score: 88
  • Publication: The Whiskey Jug
  • Excerpt: This is a tasty whiskey that sets a strong stake in the ground for the growing quality of American Single Malts. A massively exciting whiskey.
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  • Raided Score: 91
  • Publication: The Whiskey Wash
  • Excerpt: The price point for Courage & Conviction is a little bit high for an early batch from a craft distiller. If you can find it, though, and if you have money to put behind something out of the ordinary to share with your whisky-appreciating friends, Courage & Conviction is not a bad option.
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Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Intro:

    Courage & Conviction is an American Single Malt Whiskey coming to us from the minds running VA Distiller in Virginia, USA. Aged for at least 3 years in a variety of casks (bourbon, sherry, wine) this release is bottled at 46% ABV.

  • Nose:

    Sweet and spicy on the nose. Bit of oak, some fresh citrus zest, nutty and musty with a hit of wine and tobacco. Surprisingly complex on the nose.

  • Taste:

    Medium mouth feel, heat in check. Sweet and complex, lots of honey, sweet wine, praline, pepper and tobacco. Nice almond note to it.

  • Finish:

    Short but pleasant finish. Tons of honey, biscuit, pepper and almond. This honestly drinks like a well aged Speyside, like a Balvenie or Ben Nevis which threw me for a loop. Fairly complex finish overall, with quit a bit of wine and tobacco, almond and cream.

  • Overall:

    Honestly, this is surprisingly complex, and I'm into it. Young for a single malt, but performing really nicely. Blind I'd likely mistake this for scotch, and one that's quite a bit older. The American climate is likely helping the aging here, but I think the variation in casks is also imparting a lot of complexity. This may be my most surprising review of 2020, but I'm into it.

  • Score:

    6

  • By t8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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