Old Line - Navy Strength American Single Malt

Old Line - Navy Strength American Single Malt

This expression features the same liquid as their Flagship (95 proof) release, but they bottle at a higher strength (in other words, they add less water to what comes out of the barrel before bottling it). 114 proof was the traditional strength for both the American and British navies — appropriate given that the Old Line founders are US military veterans. Look for notes of cocoa, brown sugar, and cereal.

Like the Flagship, this is made from 100% malted barley, matured for 4 to 6 years in new, heavy char American oak barrels, and proofed to 47.5% abv / 95 proof. The key word there is “new” — most Scotch single malts and most world single malts for that matter are aged in used (predominantly ex-bourbon) barrels, but a lot of the American producers of single malt are aging in new barrels, which impart more flavor, and more quickly. You might argue that this places them snugly between the Bourbon market (which by definition must be made in a new oak container) and the Scotch market, which also uses 100% malted barley but in used oak casks.

Old Line both distills their own whiskey at their home facility in Baltimore and sources some of their spirits from a distillery in Ohio (presumably Middle West, but don’t hold us to that), and each bottle indicates on the back which distillery it was made at. Delicious stuff, and an important part in the exciting new category that is American Single Malt.

57% abv / 114 Proof / 750 ml