Signs that fall is just around the corner: cool evenings, colorful leaves, and last but certainly not least, whiskey! But this is not Kentucky, so we’re not talking bourbon. Two new releases of locally distilled single-malt whiskey are available now. Spirit Lab Distilling, a little warehouse shop on Sixth Street SE, presents the fifth annual batch of its prized liquor. We tried it, and we liked it very much. Made entirely in Charlottesville by husband-and-wife team Ivar Aass and Sarah Barrett, the pot-stilled whiskey takes on notes of dried fruit, toffee, cocoa, and baking spices (think pumpkin pie) in a maturation process that includes American oak as well as port and sherry-wine finishing barrels. It’s costly, at $88.99 and $46.99 for a full or half bottle, respectively, but with a limited release of just over 150 units combined, the run is bound to sell out (as it has in years past). Pick yours up at Spirit Lab—look for the red door at 1503 6th St. SE.
Meanwhile, Lovingston’s Virginia Distillery Company announced the September 1 release of its own single-malt whisky (the company’s preferred spelling). Called “Prelude: Courage & Conviction,” the sweater-weather libation—aged in bourbon, sherry, and cuvée wine casks, costs $69.99 a bottle and is available at the distillery or online. www.vadistillery.com
Food for good
An all-star lineup of about 20 local food and drink purveyors are gearing up for a major annual event benefiting Meals on Wheels of Charlottesville/Albemarle. Taste This! takes place September 24 at the fancy-pants Club at Glenmore, offering a feast presented by Chimm Thai and Southeast Asian, The Ivy Inn, Junction, Little Star, MarieBette, Market Street Wine, Oakhart Social, Prime 109, and Tavola, with cash-bar offerings by Early Mountain and Veritas vineyards, Random Row Brewing Co., and The Alley Light. It’s great to see a lineup like that—including many Best of C-VILLE 2019 winners and runners-up—coming together for a good cause. Tickets are $75, and they sell like hotcakes. Visit cvilletastethis.com.