Copper Fox Rye, American Grain Spirit 45% 70cl

Description

Copper Fox Rye is made at the Copper Fox Distillery in Virginia, USA. The Copper Fox distillery was founded by Rick Wasmund and is located at the at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Sperryville. You may also recognise the name Wasmund under which Rick also releases some “age your own” Wasmund’s spirits and barrel kits.

Rick Wasmund had been a financial adviser in the US before he decided he wanted to get into distilling and spent 6 weeks doing an internship on Islay with Bowmore Scotch Whisky. Eventually he created the Copper Fox distillery and equipped it with ts own floor maltings, kiln room, fermenters and copper pot stills from Vendome. The first malting were in November 2005 with the first spirit coming off the stills in January 2006. Rick’s main unique selling point is the innovative use different types of wood for flavouring the malt. He uses a selection of hand-chipped toasted wood chips including apple and cherry wood.

Copper Fox Rye is made from a mash bill of two thirds Virginia Rye and one third Thoroughbred floor malted barley which is kiln dried with light smoke from 40% apple and 60% cherry wood. It is double pot-stilled to between 150 and 160 proof. Copper Fox Rye American Grain Spirit is aged in ex Virginia Gentleman Bourbon Whiskey casks (Virginian Bourbon, to keep with the “spirit of Virginia”) and it is also aged with a progressive series of new and used apple wood and oak chips inside used bourbon barrels.

Technically this is not a whiskey, as under EU law whisky has to be aged for at least 3 years, and is not allowed to be called a Bourbon whiskey in the USA either as it is not aged in new charred American oak cask. However the use of ex Bourbon cask and then the use of fruitwood chips (oak chips have been use by winemakers for many years) produces a spirit with apparent development that belies its youth.

Bottled non-chill filtered at 45% in May 2014.

An innovative, complex and savoury “American Grain Spirit”.