Committed to a sustainable farm to bottle approach
Coppersea uses Heritage Methods Distilling to produce spirits that reflect deep terroir and hold the provenance of the past. All Coppersea’s whiskies are a true expression of their raw materials and a hand-crafted distilling process. Coppersea is a founding member of the Empire Rye consortium.
THE GRAIN
Coppersea is a true “grain-to-glass” farm distillery, operating an organic 75-acre farm. We use only heirloom varietals of rye, corn, and barley from our own and select Hudson Valley farms.
FLOOR MALTING
In early 2012 we became the first distillery in New York to floor malt its own grain. We use exclusively malt from our own malt house, enabling us to commit to 100% Hudson Valley grains, and never use industrial enzymes in our mashes.
OPEN TOP FERMENTATION
Open fermentation allows ambient yeasts and other microflora to give the mash extra terroir and seasonal variation. Long cycles allow additional flavor components unavailable in faster yield-driven processes.
“TRUE FIRE COPPER” DIRECT FIRED STILLS
Coppersea is one of only a handful of whisky distilleries that use direct-fired stills. Direct fire creates heavy organic “pyrolysis compounds” exclusive to flame-heated whiskies, granting all of Coppersea’s spirits rich mouthfeel and balance from nose-to-palate, and truly distinguishing our whiskies in the glass.
LOW PROOF BARRELING
Barreling at 105 proof allows more balanced extraction of water (fruity) and alcohol (vanilla &caramel) soluble compounds from the wood. Low-proof barreling also means adding only a modest amount of proofing water, ensuring minimal dilution from the barrel-proof spirit.