Plums and Pear Eau de Vie from Coppersea

Coppersea is a distillery in New York's Hudson Valley. I was a big fan of their Green Malt Rye, so I was excited to try these two eau de vie - plum and pear. The fruit comes from Dolan Orchards in Wallkill, New York.

The eau de vie are naturally fermented without additives and distilled in direct fire copper stills. They are then aged in steel for at least six months.


Coppersea Pear Eau de Vie, Batch PR-1, Distilled 2013, 45% abv ($55 for 375 ml)

This has a nice, crisp pear nose. The palate is mostly new make though, with the pear notes falling to the back ground. The taste is mostly spirit. The finish is raw and grainy.


Coppersea Plum Eau de Vie, Batch PL-1, Distilled 2013, 45% abv ($55 for 375 ml)

On the nose I get cherries and cherry candy. The palate is much fruitier than the pear with cherry and raspberry notes. A distinct plum note doesn't come into play until the finish where juicy, red plum mingles with dried apricots and a slight bitterness that ads complexity and balance.  This one is nice, the finish being the strongest element.

Between these two, I definitely preferred the plum.

Thanks to Chris Dion for the samples.