Copper & Kings American Dry Gin (750ml)

Notes

Made to order at our request, our friends at Copper & Kings in Louisville, Kentucky about knocked our socks after pouring us a couple of house-made gin and tonics on our last trip out to Bourbon country. Using their supple and fruit forward apple brandy as a base (unlike 99.9% of all gins that use grain neutral spirit), the gang at America's favorite brandy distillery does a two step infusion process that follows a more classic pot still double distillation. The juniper berries and additional botanicals are first soaked and macerated into the "low wine" (the first apple distillate), a spirit that clocks in at about 35% ABV. Then, during the second distillation, a botanical basket is hung in the still, allowing the vapor to pass through the orange peels, lime peels, and lavender. Ultimately, the Copper & Kings gin is really just a flavored, unaged apple brandy that happens to taste a helluva lot like a traditional London Dry gin with a softer, creamier mouthfeel and a bit of a fruity lift. We were absolutely hooked after our first sip; so hooked, in fact, that we forced distillery owner Joe Heron to make us our own batch before leaving. Created on the tiniest pot still in the facility, each batch is roughly 120 bottles-the size of our order! Clean and crisp, with elegant juniper notes and a beautiful integration of the additional botanicals, this is easily the best American gin we've tasted in years.