“Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral,” Vader said interrupting Piett’s nervous explanation. “I want that ship, not excuses.”
“Yes, my Lord,” the stiffly obedient soldier responded and bowed his head as the mechanized canopy of Vader’s meditation chamber lowered and hissed shut. He turned to make his way back to the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer when he heard a muffled call through the chamber wall. Vader was saying something else.
This is a flat-out delicious bourbon, no arguing it. At 104 proof, its balance of potency and nuance is ideal, and I never considered adding water to it. I can’t imagine a neat bourbon drinker not loving everything about it. To avoid being skewed by tasting notes in a press release, the only details I read before tasting anything are age and proof. And even though Double Barrel is in its name, I didn’t even consider that as I sipped this release. Here’s why:
This was my favorite of the three Coppercraft whiskies we reviewed. The nose was quite inviting and there should be no doubt you have a rye whiskey in your glass. I got the impression from that initial nosing that the first sip would be sweeter than it actually was, but when you consider a 95% rye mash bill, with the remaining ingredient being barley, as opposed to corn, the fact that it wasn’t should come as no surprise. That’s not a knock on the palate, but more of a nod to the nose.
This Blended Straight Bourbon is ‘duller’ on the nose, but at the same time, much deeper. Despite the slightly higher ABV, the alcohol vapors were not as prevalent and I was able to more easily pick up the bold notes of chewy molasses and robust baking spices. The overall profile is much richer, earthier, and rounder without all the overpowering alcohol notes.
To get a direct, head to head comparison, I sampled the two bourbons side by side. It may be a product of my own expectations, but this Straight Bourbon left me a bit underwhelmed. While it is touted as their ‘sipping whiskey’, and the Blended Bourbon as their ‘cocktail whiskey’, I found the Straight Bourbon to be much hotter despite the lower ABV. It had more alcohol in both the nose and the palate, which made it rather difficult to appreciate the more subtle flavors lurking beneath the mighty vapors. It was quite crisp, but at the same time surprisingly shallow.
