Copper Fox Rye Whisky

Interesting description and it sounds good, but that doesn't sound like any Rye whiskey I'm use too.

The only way to go is to try it your self.

@bourbondrinker, thanks for your review. That's cool that you can get Copper Fox Rye over in Cyprus. I've sampled from three bottles of it, and own a fourth, unopened bottle.

The Copper Fox Distillery is located in Sperryville, Virginia, 82 miles from where we live in Maryland.

@Benancio, Copper Fox Rye is indeed quite unusual. Jim Murray has in the past called distiller Rick Wasmund, the "mad scientist" of whiskey making.

The mashbill is 2/3rds rye (you can assume unmalted rye, because he did not declare malted rye), and 1/3 malted barley. The barley was lightly smoked with a combination of 60% applewood and 40% cherrywood.

From an unopened bottle of Copper Fox Rye, bottled Jan 13, 2012, and aged for 12 months:

"Aged with a progressive series of new and used applewood and oak chips, inside used bourbon barrels, and finished in a second used bourbon barrel."

No, @Benancio, this one tastes a good deal different from a typical US rye. It is very fruity in unusual ways, i.e. apple fruity and cherry fruity, plus the fact that it is aged in used barrels, which removes it from ever being able to be considered straight rye whiskey, even if it were the minimum two years old, which it is not.

I've seen significant variation in batches of Copper Fox Rye. At its best it is fantastic in quality in addition to being of a unique style. Jim Murray reviewed one batch at 83 pts and another more recent one at 91 pts. I reviewed one bottling at 79 pts, but I have had some which would rate for me up around 90 pts. Copper Fox Rye is interesting, sometimes really delicious, but so far not very consistent.