Copper_Fox_Distillery_in_Sperryville,_VA

Copper Fox Distillery is a

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

that produces

American whiskey American whiskey is whiskey (a distilled beverage produced from a fermented mash of cereal grain) produced in the United States. American whiskeys made from mashes with at least 51% of their named grains include bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, r ...

Sperryville, Virginia Sperryville is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the western section of Rappahannock County, Virginia, United States, near Shenandoah National Park. It consists of a village with two main streets along the two branches of the Thornton Riv ...

and

Williamsburg, VA Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is bo ...

. The owner and operator of Copper Fox Distillery is Rick Wasmund.

History

Before starting Copper Fox, Wasmund apprenticed for six weeks at the

Bowmore distillery Bowmore ( ) is a distillery that produces Scotch whisky on the Isle of Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides. The distillery, which lies on the South Eastern shore of Loch Indaal, is one of the oldest in Scotland. It is said to have been esta ...

on the

Isle of Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's capital i ...

, learning the art of floor malting. Copper Fox was licensed to begin distilling by the Virginia ABC board in 2005 as a limited distiller (<5,000 gallons), and that year Copper Fox opened its first distillery in Sperryville, VA, in a converted apple packaging plant. Pursuing an additional location, Copper Fox purchased the historic Lord Paget Motor Inn in Williamsburg, VA, in 2015. They opened their second distillery location in July 2016, and both are operational today.

Process

Copper Fox uses

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

bred specifically for the distillery and grown in Virginia, and Copper Fox is the only distiller in the United States to do 100% of its own

malting Malting is the process of steeping, germinating and drying grain to convert it into malt. The malt is mainly used for brewing or whisky making, but can also be used to make malt vinegar or malt extract. Various grains are used for malting, most ...

. During the malt drying process, fruitwood (including applewood and cherrywood) smokes the grain, similar to peat smoke use in Scotch whiskies. All the wood used for the smoke comes from local orchards. In addition to malting for their own products, Copper Fox sells a portion of their malt to breweries, who use it to make beer."Copper Fox Distillery: Meet Virginia Makers." ''The Virginia Distillers Association - Virginia Spirits Home,'' Virginia Spirits, 9 Jan. 2018
/ref> Copper Fox whisky is distilled in a copper

pot still A pot still is a type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill liquors such as whisky or brandy. In modern (post-1850s) practice, they are not used to produce rectified spirit, because they do not separate congeners from ethanol as eff ...

and aged in used bourbon barrels (from another Virginia distillery, A. Smith Bowman, maker of

Virginia Gentleman Virginia Gentleman is a brand of bourbon whiskey distilled in Kentucky and re-distilled in Virginia. The brand's motto was "The Aristocrat of Them All" (sometimes rendered as "The Aristocrats of Them All" when advertised with Smith Bowman Disti ...

bourbon). Copper Fox utilizes 'chipping' in the aging of their whisky, adding a sachet of small chunks or 'chips' of charred wood to the aging barrel. Using this accelerated technique, Copper Fox whiskies are aged at a minimum of twelve months, compared to the 3 year minimum for

Scotch Whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

. In addition to single malt whiskies, Copper Fox produces whiskies made from

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

, clear spirits, and a botanical

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...

. They also plan on releasing a bourbon in the future. All bottles of alcohol produced at Copper Fox are filled and labelled by hand.

Products

* ''Wasmund's Single Malt Whisky'' * ''Copper Fox Rye'' * ''Copper Fox Peachwood Single Malt Whisky'' * ''Vir Gin'' * ''Wasmund's Single Malt Blue Top'' * ''Wasmund's Single Malt Green Top'' * ''Copper Fox Rye Blue Top'' * ''Wasmund's Single Malt Spirit'' * ''Wasmund's Rye Spirit'' * ''Wasmund's Bourbon Mash Spirit'' * Barrels, for aging spirits

Awards

* ''Wasmund's Single Malt Whisky'' ** 92 points (Exceptional), ''Beverage Testing Institute'' ** Gold Medal, International Review of Spirits, ''Beverage Testing Institute'' ** Best in Class (Class: Malt Whiskey - Un-aged), ''American Distilling Institute'' 2011 Judging * ''Copper Fox Rye'' ** 94 points (Exceptional), ''Beverage Testing Institute'' ** Gold Medal, International Review of Spirits, ''Beverage Testing Institute'' ** Bronze (Class: Rye - Un-aged), ''American Distilling Institute'' 2011 Judging

References

Official Copper Fox Distillery Website
{{Coord, 38.658, -78.217, display=title Companies based in Virginia Whiskies of the United States Rye whiskey Food and drink companies established in 2000 Distilleries in Virginia American companies established in 2000 2000 establishments in Virginia Williamsburg, Virginia Rappahannock County, Virginia