ctbeck11
Copper Fox Original Rye Whiskey
Rye — Virginia , USA
Reviewed
December 22, 2021 (edited December 26, 2021)
Nose - smoked herbal notes, anise, clove, apple, dill, caramel, dry vanilla, mint, white pepper, black cherry, orange, mild to moderate ethanol burn.
Taste - bitter herbal notes, dill, rubber, anise, clove, black pepper, salted caramel, sour apple, spearmint, ginger, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with spearmint, anise, and bitter herbal flavors.
Wow this is a weird rye. I’ve never tried anything like it. The nose is vegetal, herbal, and smoky. It’s akin to burning a pile of fresh cooking herbs. It’s rather dry and astringent, but some fruit can be found, somewhat along the lines of apple and black cherry with a touch of orange. The palate is equally jarring. Did they age this in a first-fill pickle barrel? Dill abounds. It’s also minty, salty, and maybe even rubbery or fishy. Who knows. I’m well into uncharted flavor territory.
This is a difficult one to rate. There is a lot of complexity here, which adds to the intrigue. Though in the end, it’s a bit thin, bright, bitter, sour, and off in some unpleasant ways. Nonetheless, it’s really cool being able to try such a unique whiskey. Many thanks to @ContemplativeFox for providing the sample!
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@Milliardo Thanks! I’ve been meaning to take a drive to the distillery. Would be interested to the rest of their lineup.
Getting mine from Flaviar, I initially believed they made a mistake with this vial. Truly weird. Great review!
@ctbeck11 I think fixing the lightness is step 1. Either more age or higher proof is needed. I'd hope age would smooth out some of the off flavors, but you may be right in suggesting that a big part of what they need to do is clean up their base profile so it has less weirdness going on to begin with.
@ContemplativeFox Yep, I wonder whether more age would really help. It might thicken up some, but I doubt the off weirdness would change.
This is definitely strange. I think you're right about it being thin and off. They didn't really nail an interesting smoked rye profile