Taste a Legend: Coppersea's 3rd Annual Big Angus Green Malt Party Returns

The late Coppersea Distilling cofounder and original master distiller Angus MacDonald spent three decades studying whisky-making, hunting down experts the world over and learning the old ways. You could say his wisdom is imbued in every Coppersea bottle. As fields of grain ripen and barrels are rolled out, his dream of authenticity deepens its roots and broadens its reach with each passing season.

Each November, the Coppersea crew invites the public to visit the distillery and raise a glass in MacDonald’s memory. And not just any glass, but a nip of Big Angus Green Malt Whisky. Were it not for Big Angus, it’s likely that no one living would get to taste Green Malt, an incredibly labor-intensive technique using fresh, sprouted "green" malted barley right from the malt floor without kiln drying it beforehand.
MacDonald discovered the method in old distilling texts and brought it to life, and what results is one of the most distinctive whiskies in the world, with bright vegetal flavors like sliced cucumber, Nori seaweed, and oolong tea, with a slight wasabi-like spiciness. “Ah, this is the stuff that dreams are made of," wrote cocktail expert Warren Bobrow in Foodista in 2015, "quiet elegance in each sip."

"Angus MacDonald was a larger than life kind of personality, and like him, this whisky defies categorization,” says chief distiller and blender Christopher Briar Williams. “It's rare and bold and idiosyncratic and delicious."

MacDonald loved seafood with his Green Malt, and so will you; Brooklyn Oyster Party will be on hand, shucking West Robins oysters fresh from Southampton. And in a further invocation of the man’s roots and joyful spirit, live Cape Breton/Scottish fiddle music will be provided by fiddler George Wilson.

Join in the celebration of a life well lived. Head out to Coppersea Distilling this Saturday, November 9 between 12 and 7pm to taste Big Angus Green Malt for yourself, and understand the passion of Angus MacDonald — and the reason why every Coppersea bottle, every day, is handcrafted with the heritage distilling methods he embraced.