“It’s a 100 percent locally made malted rye,” says Coppersea CEO Michael Kinstlick, “and the combination of local terroir — our grains are grown on-site or locally sourced — and heritage methods is unlike anything you’re used to. We do a seven-day mash in open-top fermenters — that’s two or three days longer than absolutely needed, and what happens is a second fermentation in which some of the alcohol converts to add more flavor notes.”
After mashing come the direct-fired stills. “We’re one of a tiny handful of places using direct fire,” says Kinstlick, “and it lends the whisky an enormous depth. It’s like when you caramelize onions; you create a whole new batch of organic compounds. All whiskies are 99.9 percent water and ethanol; the flavor and mouth-feel come from that tiny .01 percent. Our process concentrates a wonderful, rich complexity that’s truly distinctive.”
Coppersea Distillery
Grains grown on-site are floor-malted. "When we started, no one was doing it around here," says Coppersea CEO Michale Kinstlick.
“If you’ve scrambled up Bonticou and looked east, you’re looking right down over us,” says Kinstlick.
It is, he says, spicy with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and “sort of toasted biscuit, almost bready, with this incredible rich oily mouth-feel. We find it delicious.”
Stop by the farm on Saturday, July 6, between noon and 7pm—where Bob Stump & Doug Moody will be providing a mix of Americana music—and see whether you do too.
