For #ASMWAdvent2023 Day 4.
When I visited Copperworks Kenmore on Sunday I got to try Release 048 which was new to me. I’ve heard of at least one previous release which incorporated a small amount of Manzanilla sherry, which got rave reviews for being sweet and nutty and still very much Copperworks.
Per Copperworks’ website: “Crafted from the same whiskey used in Release 047, with the addition of another Copperworks American Single Malt Whiskey made from pale malt that matured in a Manzanilla sherry cask for five and a half years. This whiskey from this sherry cask accounts for 7.5% of the blend.”
7.5% works out to roughly 1/13 or 1 cask out of 13 total casks, assuming the casks all had about the same amount of liquid in them. That’s correct according to the detailed breakdown of the release specs, available at Copperworks’ website. 9 casks were filled with Baronesse Malt distillate, 4 were filled with the Pale Malt distillate. And if you were curious about this particular detail, the Manzanilla cask happened to be one of the Pale Malt casks. The Manzanilla cask was 5 years old.
Distillery: Copperworks
Bottler: Copperworks
Region/Style: American Single Malt Whiskey (Washington)
ABV: 50% | NCF Non-chillfiltered
Age: 3 years
Cask type: 12 new American Oak casks, char #2 from Canton Cooperage. 1 ex-Manzanilla Sherry Butt.
Price: $69.99 plus taxes in WA.
Color: 0.8 deep gold | NCA No Color Added
Nose: Malt, honey, syrupy fruits. The wine is a lovely influence, lighter, subtle, a little nutty. Not as sweet as Release 047. A little brulee’d sugar.
Palate: Full-bodied, a little oily, mouth-coating. Marzipan. Floral, nuts. Chili. Peppery. Honey. With water, a little salty. Hint of pastry dough.
Finish: Medium-long, warming. A little chili, hint of mukhwas: fennel and mint candies.
Conclusion: Compared to Release 047 this release was really quite good for me. This evokes something like a lightly sherried Speyside whisky, but with an ASMW spin. The addition of a small amount of Manzanilla to this release tempers the spirit and adds a lot of depth on top of the new oak casks. I think the focus on Baronesse and Pale Malt over the Five Malt-dominant recipe of Release 047 was overall a really good thing for this spirit, setting a lovely base for the Manzanilla.
Final Score: 84/100 – great, I really like this one. I wouldn’t be surprised if I go home with a bottle of this on my next visit to Copperworks.
Buy a bottle? 4/5 yes. I actually really wanted this one and would have gone home with it, but I felt I didn’t need it as much as the Queen’s Run single cask release and tried to limit myself to one ASMW on the occasion.
(DemiTastes Review #85, ASMW #36.)
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Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Demi Tastes Whiskey 
