Past releases of Copperworks Whiskey

Tastings.com named this release “2018 Best American Single Malt Whiskey” with 96 points and a Platinum Medal. “Superlative.”

Crafted from nine casks of whiskey, Release 041 is our most involved blend to date and the one that best illustrates our pledge to always put flavor at the front and center of our production process. Although other Copperworks releases have been created by combining different cask types, barley varietals, and maturation times, Release 041 was created with a wide array of whiskeys.

Release 042 was created from six casks of Washington State peated whiskey that were matured for more than five years. Each cask was brewed and distilled with 100% of the Copeland variety of barley that was grown in Washington’s Skagit Valley and then smoked during the malting process with peat from a lakebed on the Olympic Peninsula.

Release 043 was crafted from a pale malt whiskey that matured for three years in a charred new American Oak barrel before being transferred to an Ardbeg Scotch Whisky cask for one year.

While this release only gets its smoky flavor from the cask (not the barley used to brew it), it does have a much heavier smoke flavor than Release 042. While our Washington Peated Whiskey has more savory and earthy notes, this release has more of the traditional smokiness you would find in an Islay Scotch. Ardbeg uses some of the highest levels of peat smoke in the Scotch whisky industry, so the flavor really shines through. However, there is a distinct sweetness that comes from the primary maturation which balances the heavy smoke from the Ardbeg cask.

For each bottle sold, $40 was donated to Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. Jason Parker, Co-Founder and President of Copperworks Distilling, grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky and was there visiting family when tornadoes destroyed part of the town in December 2021. To assist with relief efforts in the area, we crafted this special whiskey release.

To create this special release, we turned to a whiskey that was maturing in a barrel that previously held Kentucky bourbon. To achieve the flavor profile we were after, we blended that cask of whiskey with whiskey that had been matured in a new American Oak cask (cask no. 270, in honor of the area code for western Kentucky). Both barrels held whiskey distilled from our Pale Malt recipe and were aged for a minimum of 45 months. This special benefit release is the first from Copperworks to use whiskey matured in a used bourbon barrel.

For April Fool’s Day 2022, we created our first “Copperworks Mystery Whiskey”: a release where we did not share any detailed information, unlike our usual releases where we publish detailed specifications. We promised that once the whiskey was sold out, we’d release information on how it was made.

This special single cask release was created to celebrate Craft Malt Week 2022. It features Baronesse barley grown by Joseph’s Grainery in Colfax, WA and malted by LINC Malt in Spokane Valley, WA. The release matured for 30 months in a charred new American Oak cask with char level two and 36-month aged staves. Limited release of 219 bottles.

For every bottle sold, $40 was donated to relief efforts.

The whiskey for these two special benefit releases came from whiskey matured in two casks that previously held bourbon and from one new American Oak cask. Whiskey from one of the bourbon casks was made from pale malt and matured for more than five and a half years. Whiskey from the other bourbon cask was crafted from a rare single varietal malted barley called “Alba” and matured for six and a half years. Whiskey from the new American Oak cask was made from pale malt and matured for nearly four years.

In early 2022, legendary Portland brewery Hair of the Dog Brewing Company announced its closure after nearly 30 years in business. Hair of the Dog was known for creative, richly flavored brews and was barrel aging beer way before it was cool. This was our first (and likely last) chance to acquire casks from this craft beer pioneer. Considering our own origins as brewers, we knew we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity.

This collection features two single cask American Single Malt whiskeys and two cask finished gins. Each product was finished in a cask previously used by Hair of the Dog, resulting in unique flavors that represent the endless possibilities when craft brewing meets craft distilling.

The two American Single Malt whiskeys in this collection share the same beginning. Both were crafted from a single variety of barley called Genie, grown on a single farm in Athena, Oregon. They matured for 3 years and 3 months in new American Oak casks from Canton Cooperage with char #2 and 36-month seasoned staves. Then, their journeys diverged as they entered casks previously used by Hair of the Dog.

This special release commemorated Craft Malt Week, an annual celebration of the deep connection between local agricultural and craft beverage communities.