Copperworks New Oak Cask Finished Gin (Release No. 030)

Bourbon Snob Tries Gin: Part 2 Part 1: Nolet's Silver Part 3: Hendrick’s Lunar, 1/3/25 >>>~~~~~~~~~~<<< I have not had too many gins. It’s been years since I’ve tried one. I don’t really know the language or the flavor profiles that make sense when describing gin. Wouldn’t have my current job if I didn’t try to talk intelligently about stuff I know nothing about, as though I have an inch of damn business being in the room. This is a bourbon snob trying to understand gin. Much thanks to @ContemplativeFox for the pour! >>>~~~~~~~~~~<<< Nose is pine, lemon, mint. Body is orange syrup, sugar. Orange flavored candy vibe. Peppermint stick. Finish is more orange, butter. Orange cookie vibe. A mint note hangs on at the end. Bit of cinnamon. So at a glance: there’s color. Think Glenmorangie. There’s heat in the body. I don’t really notice it, because I’m the worst kind of bourbon snob. You know the ones. But it’s there in the mouth feel, and I like this. Maybe the finish did something that tapped into the happy bubble in my venn diagram, because the notes seem to my novice palate to be similar to the last gin I tried: Nolet’s Silver. But that one was not finishable for me, and this one could wind up on my shelf someday.

It tastes a fair amount like whiskey on the palate and it smells like it too. A lot of oak, vanilla, caramel and cinnamon up front. Then more of the botanicals come out. It's quite complex despite not being heavily flavored. It's very good. They say it's aged in char 3, which is just a good fyi note. Don't drink this right after whiskey, but drinking it on a clean palate reveals substantial complexity with a light flavor of rich wood mixed with some spicy, herbal gin notes, and a nice vanilla and floral sweetness. This is better than Batch 206 aged counter yet (4 years), which in turn is similarly better than Voyager dry gin (unaged). There some nice citrus bite in here too, giving it a freshness. The age is actually quite nice - it doesn't taste young, but does taste complex. There's a little bit of tannin in here, but it's just enough to give that aged presence and it mates well with the dry, herbal quality of the gin. This is very good.

Rating: 17/23 This may not be as balanced as the regular Copperworks gin, but it ramps up the vanilla and adds some nice wood maturity. I'd love a little more balance to this, but this is a great demonstration of why barrel aged gin and maybe whiskey matured with herbs should be common products. Compare with a mature bourbon, this doesn't have the same barrel prominence, but it compares with about a 2 year old (and maybe some 4s). That isn't the point here though - there's such a great profile here. It could also sub in some whiskey cocktails on a hot summer day. I don't think I've described this well here, but it's a 17.

Smoother than their non-aged gin. The tasting noted mention caramel and vanilla and I got those right away. My first thought was actually apple pie. This may taste very good in a fall cocktail. :)

First gin that I’ve enjoyed on the rocks. Full of flavor.