Two well-known names in the Seattle drinks scene have teamed up again, and this time the result is a whiskey that spent time soaking up flavor from a barleywine beer. Copperworks Distilling Co. is getting ready to release its newest Whiskey Club offering, and it's one built with help from Urban Family Brewing, a local brewery that's built a name for itself with bold and always-changing beers.
The new bottle is called Copperworks American Single Malt Urban Family Barley Wine Cask, and it will only be available to members of the Copperworks Whiskey Club. Memberships are still open for anyone who wants in before this one hits shelves.
Two Local Favorites Team Up Again
Urban Family Brewing has been part of the Seattle beer world since 2011. Over the years they've built a reputation for beers that don't sit still — sour beers loaded with fruit, IPAs, lagers, dark beers, and barleywines that all show off different yeast strains, hop combinations, and fresh ingredients. They're the kind of brewery that keeps experimenting instead of settling into one style.
Copperworks and Urban Family have crossed paths before, and this new release grew out of that ongoing relationship. Jason Parker, President and Co-Founder of Copperworks Distilling Co., explained how the partnership came together.
"As mutual fans of each other's work, we naturally formed an ongoing partnership which has led to this exciting cask collaboration," Parker said.
How The Whiskey Was Made
The process behind this bottle is a bit of a back-and-forth between the distillery and the brewery. It started with a cask that had already been used to age Copperworks American Single Malt Whiskey. Instead of that barrel going to waste after its first use, Urban Family borrowed it to age their Treehouse in the City barleywine.
Once the barleywine had taken on the character of that used whiskey cask, the barrel went back to Copperworks. By this point, the wood was loaded with barleywine flavor. Copperworks then filled that same cask with their signature 5 Malt whiskey, which had already been aging for three and a half years. The whiskey sat in that barleywine-soaked cask for another ten months, picking up extra flavor and complexity before it was finally bottled at 50% ABV, or 100 proof.
It's a layered process — whiskey cask to beer, beer back to whiskey cask — and it's the kind of collaboration that only really works when two producers trust each other's craft.
What It Tastes Like
According to the tasting notes, this whiskey opens with sweet malt and orange sorbet on the nose, followed by cocoa nibs and sandalwood. On the palate, those flavors carry through and pick up tobacco, black walnut, cinnamon, and ripe blackberry. The finish backs off a bit, leaving behind lighter notes of sandalwood, dried raspberry, strawberry and peach candy, and a touch of floral hops.
It's a whiskey with a lot going on — sweet, spiced, fruity, and a little smoky all at once — which makes sense given how much time and how many steps went into making it.
The Details
Image credit: Kevin Donovan/Copperworks Distilling Co.
This is a limited release, with only 330 bottles being made. Each bottle holds 700ml, and the whiskey comes in at 50% ABV (100 proof). Given the small batch size, this is one that's likely to move fast once it's available to Whiskey Club members.
Getting Into The Whiskey Club
Since this release is exclusive to Whiskey Club members, signing up is the only way to get a bottle. Memberships are still open, and joining gets members quarterly releases of some of Copperworks' most creative whiskeys, shipped straight to their door.
Beyond the quarterly bottles, membership comes with a handful of other perks:
- Early access to special releases throughout the year
- 25% off a single order as a sign-up bonus, valid within the first 30 days
- Free tastings for the member and a guest
- A club-exclusive Glencairn glass included with the first bottle
Anyone interested can sign up directly through the Whiskey Club Enrollment page on the Copperworks website.
Cocktails Built For This Whiskey
Copperworks didn't stop at just bottling this whiskey — they've also been testing it out in cocktails behind the scenes. Jeff Kanof, Copperworks Vice President and Co-Owner, said the team wanted to see how well the Barleywine Cask whiskey would hold up when mixed rather than sipped straight.
"Excited to see how Barleywine Cask American Single Malt Whiskey would taste in cocktails, we've been exploring its potential behind the scenes," Kanof said. "We are sharing two cocktails that we think wonderfully showcase its flavor in exciting and refreshing ways."
Both recipes call for Old Dames Bitters, a specialty bitters made by Girl Meets Dirt, a friend of the Copperworks brand. The bitters aren't included by default but can be added on as an extra when ordering.
West End
- 2 ¼ oz. Copperworks Urban Family Barleywine Cask American Single Malt Whiskey
- ¾ oz. BroVo Jammy Vermouth
- 6 dashes Girl Meets Dirt Old Dames Bitters
- Garnish: Rainier cherry or orange peel
Stir all the ingredients together over ice until well chilled, then strain into a cocktail glass. Finish it off with a Rainier cherry or a piece of expressed orange peel.
Pine Street
- 1 ½ oz. Copperworks Urban Family Barleywine Cask American Single Malt Whiskey
- ¼ oz. Chinook hop syrup
- 4 oz. club soda
- Garnish: orange oil, expressed from the peel
Stir the whiskey and hop syrup together in a highball glass, add ice, then top it off with club soda. Finish by expressing orange oil over the top and tossing the peel.
To make the Chinook hop syrup at home, combine ½ cup hops with ½ cup simple syrup and let it rest for one to two hours. After that, strain it through a fine strainer or cheesecloth to remove the hops before using.
A Release Worth Watching
With only 330 bottles being made and the whiskey tied to a well-loved local brewery, this release is shaping up to be one of the more talked-about drops in the Copperworks Whiskey Club lineup. Between the layered aging process, the bold tasting notes, and the two cocktail recipes built specifically around it, there's a lot here for whiskey drinkers who like to see how far a good collaboration can go. Anyone who wants a shot at a bottle will want to lock in their Whiskey Club membership sooner rather than later.
