Straw | Light peat | White grape | Gentle oak | Faint baking spices | Pleasant

Baking chocolate | Burnt pie crust | Faint white grape | Wildflower honey

Baking chocolate | Chewy oak | Grape pie | Baking spices | Pie crust | Lingering

Next Century Spirits is a company headquartered in Zebulon, North Carolina, which states that their “patented process optimizes the cask finishing of spirits. By carefully monitoring the conditions inside of barrels or oak containers such as new oak, bourbon, sherry, port, and others, [they] can help control and modulate the flavors imparted on the base spirit. Temperature, humidity, alcohol content, toast/char level, and the interactions between natural vapor or liquid phases of the distillate are accessed and modified in real-time.” The company has both in-house brands, such as Bear Fight, and also works on a contract basis, producing whiskeys for other brands. For their Bear Fight American Single Malt Whiskey, the company uses a 100% malted barley whiskey that has been aged in used first-fill bourbon barrels before finishing in used sherry and smoked peat casks.

The sip opens with an incredibly pleasing aroma that is more reminiscent of scotch than a modern American single malt. Scents of straw, light peat, and gentle oak add a base, but it’s the front-and-center white grape scent that grabs your attention. The midpoint tones down the sweetness of the white grape, pulling in baking chocolate and burnt pie crust as the predominant base. Wildflower honey and a faint white grape note add contrast before the sip enters its end phase. Baking chocolate, chewy oak, and pie crust mingle with grape pie and baking spices, providing a nice ending to the experience.

Four years after its initial release, Bear Fight Whiskey American Single Malt continues to be mostly the same, in a good way. In an age of ever-rising prices, the brand has actually reduced the price, offering consumers a well-balanced American single malt for under $50. While many modern American single malts tend to focus on bolder flavors, Bear Fight leans towards sweeter, gentler flavors. This isn’t a bad thing at all, and in fact may appeal to those who enjoy scotch but haven’t made the leap to American single malts yet.