New Illinois Distillery Copper Fiddle Plays A Young Bourbon Tune

A new distillery set for its public debut this weekend near Chicago, Illinois will have ready when its doors open a young bourbon that’s been mashed, fermented, distilled, bottled and labeled in house. The operation is named Copper Fiddle Distillery.

Copper Fiddle, reported the Lake County News Sun, is opening in Lake Zurich, Illinois, and its founders have been in the process of setting it up for the better part of a year. I reached out to them to learn a little more about their small batch bourbon and found out it has been aged in small charred American white oak barrels for several months after being distilled in an “old style” American made copper pot still from Arkansas.

Bottled at 92 proof and pricing for nearly $50 a bottle, Copper Fiddle Bourbon’s tasting notes, provided to me by the distillery, indicate “distinct notes of vanilla, caramel and an oaky char finish.” To learn more about it, you should contact them directly or attend their grand opening on March 15.

As for the name Copper Fiddle, the distillery’s history web page recounts that it reflects “a family heirloom that was hand-crafted and made in great City of Chicago. In 1907 that violin, or as we like to call it ‘fiddle,’ was made, subsequently cared for, handed down through the Rieger family, and today is the prized family heirloom.” This violin, “now 107 years old, deep in coppery color and sounding better with every passing year of age…represents Copper Fiddle Distillery. When comparing our spirits to an expertly made violin, one must keep in mind that age is always a valued companion.”