A Single Cask American Single Malt That Spotlights Its Unique Barley

Copperworks got its start in Seattle in 2013 with a focus on small-batch American single malt. At the distillery’s core are annual releases, which vary from year to year but feature the same general footprint: Washington-grown barley, double-distillation in a copper pot still, and maturation by and large in new American oak. That said, the distillery does a great deal of cask exploration, releasing single malts aged in sherry, rum, Islay scotch, stout, and other cask types. Now, co-founder and co-president Jason Parker has delivered another new American single malt experience: a single cask made from 100% Baronesse barley that’s aged entirely in one re-fill cask.

Baronesse barley is a rare varietal that was first cultivated in Germany and brought to the Pacific Northwest in the late 1980s. For its Baronesse supply, Copperworks turned to family-owned Joseph’s Grainery in Colfax, Washington; in keeping everything local, the distillery then had the grain malted by LINC Malt in Spokane Valley. After distillation, Single Cask No. 126-2 spent five years in a previously used cask that held an earlier edition of the distillery's single malt—the goal here was to highlight the barley, and let its flavors shine through as much as possible. Casks are like tea bags; the more you use one, the less influence it will have on an aging whiskey. In this case, Baronesse barley brings bright citrus and grape flavors, as well as honeyed stone fruit sweetness to the single malt.

Just 195 bottles are available; it can be purchased online via the Copperworks site, or in person at either one of the distillery’s two tasting rooms (one is in Seattle, and the other is in Kenmore, about 14 miles north). Bottled at cask strength of 64% ABV, Single Cask No. 126-2 goes for $90 a bottle.