For #ASMWAdvent2023 Day 5.

When I heard that Copperworks had bottled a Queen’s Run release I planned a visit to the distillery at my first availability. I’d never tried something this like before and it sounded super interesting.

For this release, Copperworks distilled a Queen’s Run and barreled it for 4 years and 3 months, now releasing the result as a single cask. A Queen’s Run involves keeping the heads and tails (collectively, feints) from previous distillation runs and re-distilling only those feints in a new spirit run. The result lacks the hearts of the original distillations but picks up the ethanol from the heads and the tails and the brighter and darker flavors that come along with those, respectively.

The redistillation of feints either in the same batch or with a future batch of wash is a typical part of the distillation process. What makes this unusual is that this spirit is made entirely of distilled feints. This “Queen’s Run” process is apparently more common for rum.

Copperworks has an article on this process on their website so you can read a bit more about it.

While it sounds a little scary to be digging into the “feinty” flavors for an entire release, it’s worth noting that some of the nice smoky richness and meatiness of some peated scotches comes from dipping a little deeper into the tails during distillation. This Copperworks isn’t a smoky whiskey at all but one might imagine there’s a certain heft and meatiness that might come from such a distillation.

Distillery: Copperworks

Bottler: Copperworks

Region/Style: American Single Malt Whiskey (Washington)

ABV: 60.2% CS Cask Strength | NCF Non-chillfiltered

Age: 4 years, 3 months

Cask type: new American Oak, char #2, from Canton Cooperage

Price: $89.99 plus taxes in WA.

Color: 1.5 auburn | NCA No Color Added

Nose: Fudge Brownies! Compared to a typical Copperworks, mostly a darker profile with a few brighter pops of red fruits instead of citrus. Medjool dates. Very sweet.

Palate: Hefty, oily, mouth coating. Sweet and oaky. Chocolate and a hint of stout beer. Fruity fudge. Pop of lemon curd. Orange bitters. Punchy! A little feinty but not unpleasant to me, instead adding heft and complexity which supports the chocolate fudge. A hint of black cherry jam combines with the chocolate and evokes blackforest cake. / With water: the chocolate notes fall a little flat and it becomes more feinty. I prefer this at cask strength with a long rest in the glass over adding water.

Finish: Warming. Medium-long. Dark fruits. A little spicy and astringent. Mulling spices. All together, an impression of mulled wine carries to the end.

Conclusion: I really like this one. It’s rather different from a typical Copperworks expression, which usually leans bright and sweet, but this is really well-executed and fits with some other ASMW I really enjoy. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea: my wife objected to the feinty notes, which is consistent with her dislike of the heavier flavors in iodine-forward, heavily-peated Islay like Ardbeg.

Final Score: 85/100 – great.

Buy a bottle? 3/5 maybe. Flavor-wise this is getting to be a tough call on value. But considering how unusual this type of run is in Whiskey and the unique flavors that this offers, especially within Copperworks’ portfolio of whiskeys, I am happy to own it. Good for a fan of the new and interesting.

(DemiTastes Review #86, ASMW #37.)

• Discuss on Reddit
• See this review on maltrunners.com and Instagram.

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.