Copperworks Moscatel Cask American Single Malt landed on my desk at 50% abv, carrying a $89.99 Rich amber tones with slow thin legs price tag. Here is what I found.
Nose
Rich amber tones with slow thin legs.
Palate
Red grape, very fruity and floral. It is a little overwhelming to be honest, and it takes a minute to peer through the rich fruity notes to find the grains and whiskey. While exploring the flavors I get a hint of melted butter and barley. The alcohol is present which interferes with taking long sustained whiffs. It is all together pleasant but wine forward.
Finish
Start to finish, front to back, this tasted like Peach-O candy dipped in whiskey. It was sweet like white sugar, with peach essence and just a hint of tartness. Letting the sample open up I was able to get some nice woody notes that tie the sweetness together, but I was always brought back to Peach-Os. The finish is very well done. It is smooth and just holds its flavor. We do escape the candy notes on the finish and hold with soft notes of fresh leather and malt. It dries your mouth out but not in an unsavory way. This has a lot going for it, and genuinely its a fun drink. I was hoping to experience something different, and I did! Im not positive if this whiskey is for me to be honest. The candy flavor confused my senses and its difficult to overcome an initial sense reaction like that. It wasnt a bad flavor, not by any stretch, it just wasnt what I expected for a whiskey. I believe the wine cask may have been too powerful for the base spirit, and maybe needed a bit longer to mature together.rnrnThere was disharmony in my glass and the fortified wine just had too much punch for the whiskey. However, it is a delight and truly something different. If youre a fan of finishing casks, this is something you should try.
The Bottom Line
Copperworks Moscatel Cask American Single Malt is a perfectly respectable whiskey that does what it sets out to do. At $89.99 Rich amber tones with slow thin legs, the value is reasonable — it will not blow your mind, but it will not disappoint you either. A reliable choice.
