Review: Southern Star American Single Malt Whiskey
Last fall, North Carolina’s Southern Distilling Company jumped into the increasingly crowded world of American single malt in a pretty big way. With a portfolio dominated by house-distilled bourbons, single malt was something of a surprising addition for one of the state’s largest distillers and contract producers. And they appear to be going all in on the category, offering bulk single malt production to contract clients (since 2024, in an apparent first for the industry).
Most American single malt today is made on pot stills like the old school producers across the pond. But Southern Distilling makes their single malt essentially like they make their bourbon, on an 18-inch diameter continuous column still towering 40 feet inside their Statesville distillery. This inaugural release was aged for a healthy six years in toasted American white oak barrels and bottled at cask strength. It was released in limited quantities (and half-sized bottles), but we got our hands on a sample. Let’s check it out.
Southern Star American Single Malt Whiskey Review
Even after six years, the casks have imbued this single malt with minimal color, only a golden, copper-tinged hue. Still, that toasted oak is well-represented on the nose with undertones of warm sawdust and nougatine that complement higher tone notes of butterscotch candy, dry straw, meadow flowers, and spearmint. Traditional pot-distilled single malt often showcases the grain first and foremost, but the malt is somewhat secondary here, blooming with bready hints of soggy cereal only after it opens a bit in the glass. It’s also surprisingly light on the nose for a single malt, never mind a cask strength expression.
The palate shows more higher proof energy with an initial wave of peppery oak and slightly bitter baking chocolate that comes across a touch sharp. A silky midpalate of caramelized sugar, clove syrup, and apple chips smooths those edges while maintaining a simmering, black pepper warmth. The finish is sweet and honeyed with notes of fresh oak and milk chocolate and subtler undertones of orange zest and amaretto.
It doesn’t quite match the heft and texture of traditional pot-distilled American single malts, but it’s closer than I would have expected. The cask strength likely adds some breadth of flavor and weight to the mouthfeel. It’s a quality single malt, although maybe not as dynamic at a more approachable proof. With contract production in full swing, we’ll likely find this single malt behind other craft labels (if we haven’t already). I’ll be curious to see what the NDPs might do with it.
114.8 proof.
B+ / $50 (375ml)
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