Virginia Lightning Corn Whiskey

Because of laws in Michigan regarding shipping alcohol to homes, most of my purchases have been sent to a friend in Virginia. A few months ago, one of these deliveries arrived at his place. He included some samples when he sent the package to me. He saw there was space for another full bottle and offered me a choice: the Macallan Classic Cut 2018, or this unaged corn whiskey. I had already tried a bottle of the CC and wasn't impressed, so I picked the Virginia Lightning. Let's see what I got myself into. This "moonshine" is unaged, as I mentioned; the bottle even boasts "Less than 30 days old." It's bottled at 50% ABV and has no color since it spent no time in wood, and I suspect it's chill-filtered, though I have no concrete information. The aroma is intense, and to be polite, unpleasant. Honestly, it's awful in a way I never anticipated. Corn... rancid corn floating in butter and butterscotch. Bile, spoiled vegetables with an overly sweet taste. Stale funky salsa verde and pickled pearl onions. Truly, truly off-putting. The taste initially has some sweetness with savory corn and butter, but it quickly becomes absolutely repulsive. Bad corn, butterscotch, a general harshness, and a slight metallic hint. The mouthfeel is light, thin, and coats the tongue. The finish is medium-short with that rancid corn and alcohol. Well, I definitely made the wrong decision. This stuff is disgusting straight, and just as bad on ice, only colder. I tried adding grenadine to mask the flavor, and it went from terrible to merely bad. The biggest waste of money recently, and it was a gift! My friend mentioned he paid $25 for this bottle. That's about $28 too much. I can say with some confidence that this is the worst whiskey I've ever had. Please avoid it. Cheers.

Ah, good old local moonshine. There's nothing better*. This is supposedly the top-tier, mass-produced corn whiskey in Virginia. Belmont Farms is located about 30-40 miles south of Washington DC, and they produce all sorts of inexpensive spirits. They also have a contract to produce Tim Smith's moonshine – he's the individual from the popular A&E channel's "Moonshiners" television program. Virginia Lightning is Belmont Farms' own brand of corn whiskey. It's bottled at 50% ABV and costs around $25-28 per bottle. Its appearance is crystal clear because it undergoes no barrel aging, and the label proudly states it's less than 30 days old. Oh my. The aroma is precisely as anticipated: damp, musty corn and sharp alcohol. It also possesses a strong artificial sweetness, almost like sugarcane. There's no need to search for anything else, nor should you bother with a proper nosing. The palate is hot, sweet corn. There's a buttery quality to it – as if it's been thickened with a simple syrup. The mouthfeel is heavy, which is undesirable for moonshine. It ought to feel watery, warm, and smooth, especially if it's a proper, higher proof. The finish is intensely hot with, predictably, more corn. There's a cinnamon candy sweetness and heat that lingers, but you really don't want it to. Believe me. Overall, this spirit is challenging to drink. The best approach is to mix it with apple juice and a few cinnamon sticks to create a batch of low-quality "apple pie" liqueur. I've actually sliced up some lemons, mixed it with pre-made lemonade, and poured it over ice like a budget version of Mike's Hard Lemonade, and it works reasonably well. Under no circumstances should you consume it straight, on ice, or in public. In fact, leave it on the shelf and purchase some genuine whiskey. 0.5 stars, because it will get you intoxicated. Cheers. *Pure sarcasm

I acquired this to improve my whiskey tasting skills and better understand unaged spirits. It tastes of corn and ethanol with a cinnamon finish. It's quite awful, possibly better than cheap vodka but not by much. I'm glad I only purchased the 375ml bottle instead of a full size one.

Awful, potent, ethanol moonshine