Strong apple juice | Varnished oak | Muted brown sugar | Light grain | Doesn’t draw you in

Light oak | Light vanilla | Muted spice | Watery thin mouthfeel

Flash of light spice | Slightest dab of vanilla & oak | Ends as fast as it started

Founded in 2010, Asheville Distilling Company hails its namesake from Asheville, North Carolina. The company is known for their Troy & Sons products, along with their Blonde Whiskey. The company states that “Blonde starts with rare heirloom Turkey Red Wheat and White Corn, grown on Peaceful Valley Farm in the lowland hills of Western North Carolina.”

Asheville Distilling Company’s standard Blonde Whiskey is aged for 5 years and bottled at 80 proof. The Blonde 8 year version tacks on three additional years of aging and ups the proof to 90. Unfortunately the 8 years this whiskey spent in the barrel didn’t do much to impart a lot of flavor into the whiskey. The overall sip is muted and light leaving a strong desire for more throughout, which culminates with a finish that is almost non-existent. That said, this whiskey was laid down just a few years after Asheville Distilling Company started, so I'm curious what their aged product (with more distilling experience behind them) looks like a few years down the road.