BourbonEnthusiast.com

Had a bourbon tasting at a local restaurant here in Sanford NC. One of the bourbons recommended by the proprietor was a new name for me. Defiant American Single Malt Whiskey, by Blue Ridge Distilling (https://www.defiantwhisky.com). I was hit in the face by the spice of this whiskey, they are avoiding calling themselves a bourbon, even though that is the clearly the style of this malt. Grain and pepper - with a touch of caramel. Despite its aggressiveness this one rounds out nicely and finishes long. I had to go online and read about this one. Interesting process - not aged in a barrel, but it will be really interesting if they chose to age this one.

I would be interested in what others feel about this one after giving it a try. It is available online and in ABC stores here in NC.

My usual cabinet: Wild Turkey 101, Four Roses Small Batch, Four Roses Single Barrel, Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, Knob Creek 9yr, Larceny, Old Heaven Hill, Evan Williams White Label. I usually like having some Weller bottles but NC has been without for a while.

baldartist wrote:Had a bourbon tasting at a local restaurant here in Sanford NC. One of the bourbons recommended by the proprietor was a new name for me. Defiant American Single Malt Whiskey, by Blue Ridge Distilling (https://www.defiantwhisky.com). I was hit in the face by the spice of this whiskey, they are avoiding calling themselves a bourbon, even though that is the clearly the style of this malt. Grain and pepper - with a touch of caramel. Despite its aggressiveness this one rounds out nicely and finishes long. I had to go online and read about this one. Interesting process - not aged in a barrel, but it will be really interesting if they chose to age this one.
.

I haven't seen this but they aren't avoiding calling themselves a bourbon to stand out but because this cannot legally be called bourbon for various reasons, not the least of which is the grain bill is not 51+% corn. Bourbon usually has around 5% (barley) malt in it just for the amylase enzyme that is present in it that helps breaking down starches into fermentable sugars.

I'm from NC and have tried Defiant. I can also confirm it's all over VA abc stores, too.

I enjoy it occasionally, but I wouldn't confuse it with any bourbon. I don't know about the mash bill, but I know it's aged in stainless steel with chunks of charred oak floating in it...so definitely a different process than bourbon. Has a lot more fight/rough edge to it...almost like it stood next to a (rough) Scotch.

I want to support the local guy, so I have a bottle on my shelf. I just wish it were cheaper. It dropped recently from $40 to low $30's (right after I bought, of course!), but there are a ton of things on the shelf in the 30's that are more tempting. Of course, it is a small distillery, so I'm sure it's hard to compete.