Occasionally you “take a flyer” on something, giving it a chance when you’ve never tried it – or in some cases – even heard of it before. When this theory is applied to whiskey, you win some and you lose some. Sometimes, there’s a bottle that doesn’t work for you. It happens. Even if you believe bad whiskey doesn’t exist, sometimes it is our tastes that are subjective and don’t align with what is in our glass at the moment. Conversely, there are times when you find something new, something intriguing, and something that brings a smile to your face. Something like Wasmund’s Single Malt Whiskey from Copper Fox Distilling.
Virginia has a long tradition of whiskey, with companies like A. Smith Bowman among others. As with many other states, it is currently enjoying a craft whiskey boom, with younger distilleries like Reservoir popping up. Copper Fox, though being a little on the older site of the current boom (founded 2005), is doing something slightly different: an American Single Malt, made in the Scottish style using apple and other fruit woods as a source of the smoke. No surprise given founder Rick Wasmund interned at the fabled Bowmore Distillery.
Our understanding is that this particular labeling won’t be around for much longer, as the company has already re-launched it under just the Copper Fox brand. The whiskey will be the same but the owner decided to not have his name feature so prominently. So you may not be able to find this exact name for much longer but even if you can’t find it, the distillery boasts an impressive lineup of single malts, ryes, and bourbons. In the words given to young Wasmund from his Bowmore friends, “just go do it!” If you want to “take a flyer” on something, Copper Fox might not be a bad place to start!
Distillery: Copper Fox
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 48%
Price: $39.99
Maturation: ex-bourbon barrels from A. Smith Bowman
Location: Sperryville, VA
Nose: Apple, pear, nail polish, varnish, mint, cucumber, peppermint, brown sugar, caramel, smoke
Palate: Apple, cinnamon, tobacco, pepper, cucumber
Finish: Cherry, oak
Comments: Really benefits from some time in the glass or partly diminished bottle. Feels unbalanced fresh into the glass.
Adam – The Copper Fox is musty on the nose at first. A little sweetness paired with varnish. Not the worst smell, since I have memories of staining the deck every summer as a kid. Eventually, with the right angle of your glass, that element fades and the sweetness comes out. It’s not sugary like candy but more on the rich end of the spectrum. Brown sugar, caramel, maybe a dash of mint and puff of smoke. At the heart of that is fruit, apple and pair. It takes a little work but it’s worth it. The fruit really comes to the fore on the palate, the apple and cherry wood chips used in the maturation showing their quality here. Fruit and tobacco with a spritz of pepper. There’s also that astringent line from the nose returning if you take a bigger sip, especially on the finish. Not the biggest fan of that. I appreciate how layered the palate is for something so relatively young. This is an appropriately priced whiskey that is worth exploring, for nothing else than how much there is explore and talk about.
Kate – This Copper Fox feels like home. It reminds me of the tobacco fields of Maryland.
Henry – Give this one time in the glass. You’re welcome. With patience, a layered smoky nose emerges, with both applewood and cherrywood discernible, which was quite pleasantly surprising. Big heat zaps you on the palate, followed by rolling waves of smoke, sweetness, and a peppery, tannic astringency. Heat returns at the finish, with hints of stone fruit. An unique and thought-provoking dram.
Ben – There’s a peppermint bark aspect to the nose, a mild sweetness along with the peppermint.
With patience, a layered smoky nose emerges.
Bill – The nose has a scent of aged varnish. Been to an old church recently? The smell of the years of varnish on the pews. It almost smells like it’s been aged in a sherry cask because of the fruit.
Evelyn – I am not a fan of cucumber and I get a lot of that in this one.
Sam – For me it has a strong green apple taste. Green apples are vegetal so it has that throughout and then ends with a touch of the cherry and oak.
