It’S the Wood that makes it good,
it’s our passion that makes it Great!
The story of Copper Fox Distillery begins many years ago..
The story of Copper Fox Distillery begins many years ago with how much the owner Rick Wasmund loved the smell of burning wood, his discovery that he wanted something that did not exist, and the revelation that he could make a great American Single Malt Whisky!!
As a kid, he was in charge of collecting firewood and building the campfires on family camping trips. Later, when building fires for warmth and cooking, he became more aware of the aromatic properties of different woods and the different flavors of wood smoke when used for grilling.
When he was a little older, he discovered whisky tasting events with his dad and fell in love with Scotch Whisky; especially the peaty kind, partly because of the smell of the smoked peat and partly because of the rich fruitiness of the malted barley. He knew whisky would taste great if the barley was flavored with fruitwood smoke instead of peat and began to search for a flavor that he soon discovered did not exist.
His search eventually led him to Scotland and an offer to intern at Bowmore Distillery, where he bunked in a barn and learned the traditional art of floor malting barley.
It was then that he had the revelation that he could make a great American Single Malt Whisky! He was encouraged to “just go do it lad!” and the birth of Copper Fox Distillery resulted from that idea.
Upon his return from Scotland, he began the search for a location and invited family and friends to invest and be a part of his dream.
Three years later, “Wasmund’s Original Single Malt Whisky” was launched into the marketplace as the first applewood-aged whisky in the world. The distillery in Sperryville opened in January of 2005, and with it, the first US distillery malt floor and kiln since the repeal of Prohibition.
All of the grains used are grown locally by one farmer, and the 6-row Thoroughbred barley was developed for Copper Fox at Virginia Tech. We floor malt the barley in the traditional style, which allows us to develop and maintain a connection to the grain throughout our entire production process.
Our innovation begins in the kiln, where instead of peat, we use local fruitwoods that gently smoke and dry the grain.
Copper Fox is the only distillery on the planet to mature their whisky with toasted applewood. This process further develops and enhances the flavor of the smoky malt, resulting in a complex and singular flavor experience.
All of our products are non-chill filtered, allowing the natural oils to deliver to you the rich, full flavor of our grain.
We believe the result is something distinctive, original, and unlike anything else you've tasted.
The spirits are double pot-distilled at a low 150 to 160 proof to enhance the fruitiness.
One of only five distilleries in the U.S. with a malting floor.
Our spirits at Copper Fox Distillery focus on the flavoring of the malt using the smoke of selected, smoldering fruit woods, and hand-cut, toasted fruit wood that add a range of natural flavors in the maturation process.
