Coppercraft Straight Bourbon Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

The craft movement is now 10 to 12 years old, but even the earliest entrants haven’t introduced whiskeys several years or a decade old. This is because most of those early micro-distilleries were using barrels so small that aging even a year would leave the whiskey cloyingly over-oaked.

Those that weren’t relying exclusively on small barrels still had to put a product out and occupy shelf-space, which meant a very limited ability to keep back stock for a future aged release. With the exception of items like Old Potrero 11 Year Old, an aged whiskey from a craft distillery means it’s sourced.

Such is the case with Coppercraft’s Straight Bourbon. Although it doesn’t bear an age statement, it’s described as a small batch drawn from barrels of 10 year old-plus whiskey, and it’s entirely sourced. Coppercraft’s two other whiskeys are blends of sourced and in-house whiskeys. It has been bottled at 48.5% ABV or 97 proof.

The Bourbon
A pour of Coppercraft’s aged bourbon has a copper coloring in the glass, not especially dark for 10 years or more at almost 100 proof. Swishing the glass left behind a coat of thick legs.

The scent of the whiskey is corn syrup sweet with citrus zest, accented by light notes of nuts and vanilla. The flavor takes a turn from there, becoming much spicier, although the corn syrup sweetness and spoonfuls of citrus, vanilla and nuts remain. These are joined by a hint of oak. The finish starts with the vanilla, which is subsumed by a spiciness that lingers on the tongue.

The Price
A bottle of this should retail for $50, which isn’t too bad considering the implied age statement.