Coppercraft Distillery Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey

VITALS:

- $70

- 113.58 Proof

- NAS

- Indiana

I've said it before, repeatedly. But, it's worth saying yet again.  I love free whiskey!!  This bottle was a gift from a very good friend of mine who traveled to my place from California via Michigan for the 4th of July. On his way through that mitten-shaped state, he stopped by Coppercraft distillery and picked this bottle up for me, one I had never had before. 

In fact, I don't know that I have had anything from Coppercraft prior to this bottle. But, it's cask strength MGP bourbon, and I was told it was 6 years old (though that remains unverified). In any event, I figured it had to, at the very least, be decent whiskey, and was in all likelihood very good.

On the nose I got a lot of those characteristics I've come to expect from MGP. It had a more spice-forward profile, rather than being sweet.  I got cinnamon and toffee, as well as a bit of vanilla undertone. Despite its youth, I also got a bit of oak, but no bitterness to accompany it. Rather, just a bit of an earthy, woody aroma. It also had a bit of an orange peel note to it, adding just a slight twist to things.

The flavor was pretty on point with the nose. The toffee note seemed to be more up front, however. I expected the cinnamon note to carry the day, but it leaned toward the sweeter end of the spectrum right up front. The vanilla seemed to come forward more than on the nose as well.

However, it didn't take long for that cinnamon spice to come through. As those sweet caramel and vanilla notes subsided, the spicy cinnamon shone through. There was also a rich, dark fruit note, kind of like a mix between cherry and blackberry. But it didn't have any sort of jammy fruit notes to it. Rather, it was just the richness and flavor of the hybrid berry that I was getting.

On the finish the toffee and cinnamon prevailed. None of those rich fruit notes really seemed to linger. Quite frankly, the sweet and spicy notes didn't linger as long as I'd have liked either, as it was a relatively short-lived finish, despite the higher proof.

I think I need to give more Coppercraft products a try. I realize this is sourced, but there's something to be said about a good, sourced whiskey, and this fits the bill.  

Grade: B+