Uncooked: Coppersea Green Malt Rye

Coppersea is a craft distillery in New York's Hudson Valley. Their Green Malt Rye is made from 100% floor-malted rye which is distilled in direct fire stills and aged in 15 gallon new charred oak barrels. Interestingly, they call their rye "unkilned" because it is not cooked after malting, just ground, fermented and distilled.

This bottle was distilled in October 2014 and is listed as .6 years old.

Coppersea Green Malt Rye, .6 years old, Batch 15-2, 45% abv ($95 for 375 ml)

The nose is young but complex with strong grassy and grainy notes. These eventually settle and yield to some maraschino cherries. On the palate it starts raw and woody, like a whiskey aged in small barrels, but behind that there is a lot of flavor, including those grassy notes from the nose and a malty note, more like malted milk than the malt notes that typically come from rye malt. The finish has pencil shavings, dry autumn leaves and beer.

This has some of the raw notes I dislike in craft whiskeys, but there is more going on here. There is definitely some complexity on the palate that you don't see in most craft whiskeys. The more I taste it, the more interesting I find it and the more I want another sip.  That being said, $95 for a half bottle is a crazy price for this, which is too bad, because it's one of the few craft whiskeys I might recommend if the price were somewhere close to reasonable. 

Thanks to Christopher Dion of Young's Co. Market for the sample.

American Single Malts: Westland and Cut Spike

Two of the most well regarded American single malts are Westland from Washington State and Cut Spike from Nebraska. Today, I taste new offerings from each of them: Batch 3 of Cut Spike and a K&L barrel from Westland (which seems to be sold out).

Cut Spike Single Malt, 2 yo, Batch 3, 43% abv ($60)

I reviewed Batch 1 of Cut Spike last year and found it quite good. Batch 3 is brand new on the market.

The nose has prominent gin notes, then some vanilla. The palate is very raw with sweet grainy notes. The juniper notes come back in the finish.

Unfortunately, this couldn't be more different from Batch 1, the earlier batch which I liked (I tasted them side by side as I still have some of Batch 1 left). It has none of the depth and complexity of that bottling. Instead, it tastes like a pretty run of the mill craft whiskey, young with raw wood.  I'm hoping this is an aberration. 

Westland Cask 300, 60.8% abv ($90)

Westland has been popular for a few years now, but this is the first one I've tried. This is a special, cask strength, fino sherry aged bottling for K&L.

This has an odd nose with Butterfinger and pralines & cream ice cream. The palate is full of sweet toffee, a more literal toffee flavor that is found in bourbon, which often has toffee-like notes.  The toffee note comes on strong but then fades quickly and you're left with a very vague sherry note on the finish. Water tames the sweetness a bit but also brings out some sulfur on the palate.

This one was a mess. It was sweet but without depth, and it didn't retain any positive notes from the sherry aging.

I was really looking forward to this tasting since these are two of the stars of American single malt, but both of these were disappointing.  I have another few Westlands in the tasting queue, so I'll see if this one was a fluke or not.  As for Cut Spike, I know they can make good whiskey, this batch just didn't live up to the earlier one. I hope, as they have become popular, they are not rushing out barrels that aren't yet ready.

Thanks to Funky Tape for the samples.

Lists - We've Got Lists

If you haven't checked out my big lists lately, you might want to as I am constantly updating them.

The Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries & Brands now lists 325 distilleries making whiskey in the US.  That's up from 190 a year ago which shows pretty amazing growth.  In addition, the list includes 115 independent bottlers (also known as non-distiller producers or NDPs).

Meanwhile, The Complete List of Whiskey Blogs lists 495 blogs as well as assorted other whiskey sites.  I like to click randomly through it and read a few posts from who knows where.

As always, please let me know if I've left anything out!  I get lots of great tips from readers, though please do check the list thoroughly first.  You won't believe how many emails I get asking me to include companies on the distilleries/brands list that are already there (usually in the bottlers section) or that only make vodka.

Check 'em out!

Whiskey 101: Clay Risen's American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye

Clay Risen's new book American Whiskey Bourbon & Rye is a refreshing and comprehensive treatment of American Whiskey.  A New York Times editor and author of the Mash Notes blog, Risen's new book joins Chuck Cowdery's Bourbon, Straight as a must have for anyone developing an interest in American whiskey.

While the bulk of the book contains reviews of over 200 American whiskeys, I most enjoyed the 76 page Introduction, in which Risen manages to cover pretty much every aspect of American whiskey, including its history, production, composition, label terms and tips on organizing tastings.  The breadth of material covered is truly impressive, and Risen includes many recent trends in the industry, including white whiskey, craft distilling, flavored whiskey and non-distiller producers, all of it written in accessible, engaging prose.

The review section spans every type of American whiskey and includes both tasting notes and a paragraph or two about each producer, including many independent bottlers and craft distillers. Recognizing the importance of the craft trend, Risen went out of his way to sample (and in some case, choke down) a huge number of craft products, making this one of the largest compendiums of craft whiskey reviews anywhere.

Nothing in the book is sugar coated, including the ratings.  Risen uses a star rating system ranging from a high of four stars to a low of NR (not recommended), and he's a tough grader, even by my standards. He also makes clear which producers make their own whiskey and which are bottlers or blenders. 

Risen's book fills a real gap on the shelves, both as a broad survey and a buyers' guide.  Even though it's intended more as an introduction, the detail is such that I would recommend it to longtime whiskey enthusiasts as well.  It goes for around $16.

American Whiskey Bourbon & Rye
by Clay Risen
Sterling Epicure, 2013 (298 pages)

Disclaimer:  I reviewed and gave feedback on a draft version of the book and was sent a complementary copy.

The State of Craft Whiskey

Given the recently reported division among craft spirits trade groups, I thought it would be a good time to review the state of craft whiskey based on the information I've culled in my Complete List of American Whiskey Distilleries.

As of 2013, I count a remarkable 190 craft distilleries that are making whiskey (though not all are on the market yet).  A year ago, the count was 117.

Washington leads the pack with 25 craft whiskey distillers, but four other states have more than 10: California (16), New York (14), Colorado (13) and Oregon (11).

Clearly, the craft movement continues to grow at an impressive rate. It will be interesting to see where it goes.