Coppersea Rye PX finish

I always wondered if a cask finishing is done sometimes to hide a flaw. You know, like covering up something basic, and hopefully it’ll turn out good, but there’s something odd that makes folks question it. Like my friend from college “S”. You see, S dated this guy Ali for all 4 years of undergrad. He was from an ultra rich family in Pakistan. We kept telling her “ don’t get your hopes high, he’ll go back home and marry someone there. He’s super rich, why would he slog his ass here in the US like us middle class bums ?” But no…she goes ahead and gets a tattoo right below her bikini line, on her inner thigh, which was symbolically meant for only him to see. The tattoo was inked as “Ali”. Well, right after senior year, Ali leaves back to Pakistan, where he helped run the family business. S is devastated. But she also has a forever engraved name of the one person that made her cry on a daily basis. What does she do? She changes “Ali” to “CommonAlity”. I’m absolutely sure the next guy she dated had tons of questions, always wondering if there was some sort of a coverup. Like the whiskey in my glencairn tonight…except I’m having much less of an emotional damage than S. Despite having this while watching some woman getting a forced cesarean in the 1st episode of HBO’s House of Dragon. I purchased this bottle from the distillery itself back in May. Finally, I’m having it…after sharing it with so many folks already. Finally got around to it. This is a strange pour. Oxidation is certainly its friend. It seems as if it really needs time and some water to open up. Having it without some rest is just too rough. Seems disconnected. But with a few drops of water, it opens up to reveal some jammy berries and shortbread. Strawberry jam, some balsamic, and a lot of youthful heat. I think it’s super young, which is what they were trying to cover up with a cask finishing? For a distillery only bottling, I wish it were better. Not worth the price I paid unfortunately.

Rating: 13/23 N: This starts off with a vegetal presence, though it avoids being too funky. Then the rye spiciness and herbaceousness come in, brining especially dill notes, though also some mint and orange. I might get a mild layer of wood, but not much. The PX is surprisingly muted, though I do get some sweetness from it and I suspect that it is partly to blame for the vegetal smells. P: This is more bitter than I'd expected, with more of a funky bitterness that ties in some fruits and light syrupy flavors. It really is quite bitter. I get some herbaceousness, but it's kind of muddled in with the bitterness. There's definitely that rye spiciness, but the flavors in it aren't very distinct either. There are hints of chocolate, but they're kind of bitter and burnt. F: The herbs and spices finally come out a bit more, along with a bit of lemon, showing off the more delicate flavor lurking here. There's also a bit of bitter wood that isn't excessively bitter like whatever is going on on the palate. - Conclusion - I was worried that the PX finish would be overpowering, but it really isn't. What surprises me is how bitter and flat the profile is here. Unfortunately, this isn't giving me a good impression of Coppersea Distilling. Because of how shockingly bitter and uncomplex this is, I'm putting it significantly behind Lost Lantern's California Spirit Works Rye Sloe Finish (13/23). This is struggling to even be an 11 - and it could be much lower than that. I'm currently contemplating the 7 to 11 range. Most likely, it will be an 8. Coming back the next day, I'm not tasting nearly as much bitterness here and there's a bit more herbal nuance. It's still quite bitter, but not to the degree of being painful. The PX is still suitably restrained. This isn't a great dram, but it's sure tasting a lot better today than it did yesterday. This is at least a 10 now. I'm getting some nice Whistlepig PiggyBack vibes, though it's a bit less nuanced and more of a kick in the face. A bit of Dad's Hat going on here too. I like the Whistlepig substantially more, but this could even be as high as a 15. I'm thinking a 13 though. What a reversal! It just goes to show how big of a factor palate condition can be. I have no idea what changed, but I'm sure glad to have tried this twice. Thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for sharing this real oddball rye!