The Coopers’ Craft Original was billed as being Beeched and Birched, but this Cooper’s Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon is being tagged as ‘chiseled and charred’; for this release they’ve made changes to the barrels. Chiseling grooves in the wood to increase the surface area in the barrel and give the spirit more charred oak to interact with.
While not original, Corsair has cut grooves in their barrels for years, it’s nowhere near commonplace in the greater market. It’s interesting to see what changes in filtering and barrel prep do to a whiskey. On an intellectual level, I’m really enjoying the Cooper’s Craft series, but it also has to taste good. Let’s see if it does in the bourbon review below.
Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon Review: Details and Tasting Notes
In Brown-Forman’s Words:
Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve is born from our one-of-a-kind, chiseled and charred American White Oak barrel. This expression is a bold and complex Kentucky bourbon bottled at 100 proof.
Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon: Details (price, mash bill, cask type, ABV, etc.)
Region: Kentucky, USA
Distiller: Brown-Forman (Old Forester)
Mash Bill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Cask: New Charred Oak
Age: NAS (4+ years)
ABV: 50%
Price: $30*
Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon: Tasting Notes
EYE
Ruddy oaken brown
NOSE
Dark sweets (caramel, butterscotch, toffee, etc.), buttery, oaky, dried dark fruit, roasted corn, vanilla and some char.
PALATE
Oak, caramel corn, herbal spice, dried dark fruit, leather and some vanilla taffy with bits of sour cherries.
FINISH
Long -> Oak, caramel, cocoa, spice and dried corn.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Good sense of balance, medium body and a warm, slightly drying, feel.
Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon Review: Overall and Score
A bit tannic, but that’s just nitpicking a good bourbon. Aroma is heavy and darkly sweet with some bold rustic notes punching through. Palate follows in a similar vein but pulls through more oak and spice into the delivery. The finish is the kind of long oaky sweet fade you’d expect from a well matured bourbon.
On-the-whole it carries a nice balance and depth. It’s wonderful to sip neat and would work well in cocktails with the 100 proof giving a nice kick to whatever it goes in. As the Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon opens a bit more spice slides in, but it’s nowhere near as dominant as it was in the Cooper’s Craft Original. I’m liking what the groove-chiseled barrels have done to the Old Forester spirit.
SCORE: 87/100 (B+)
*Disclosure: This Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon sample was graciously sent to me by the company for the purposes of this review. The views, opinions, and tasting notes are 100% my own.
Coopers' Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon Review 30
- Nose - 88
- Palate - 87
- Finish - 87
- Balance, Body & Feel - 86
Coopers' Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon Review Summary
Cooper’s Craft Barrel Reserve Bourbon has a great balance to it with sweet and rustic notes swirling an oaken backbone. In cocktails or drank neat, this is good stuff.
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