Greetings from my annual vacation through the South! The latest: While seemingly the entire state of Kentucky is zigging toward making the Bluegrass State one giant bourbon distillery tour, Copper & Kings in Louisville is dramatically zagging with brandy. Yes, brandy: the drink of Leisure World’s older residents and teenage Mexican boys who found a bottle of unused Presidente in the back of their mami’s pantry. But Copper & Kings’ take (and their awesome absinthe) has proven such a hit that it’s spreading across the country and Louisville’s bars. It’s not available at Hi-Time Wine Cellar yet, but as their unofficial scout, I urge Mr. Hi-Time to stock it. At the very least, get their highest-end product: Butchertown Brandy.
Named after the Louisville neighborhood in which Copper & Kings’ fancy distillery operates, Butchertown is like a Kentucky summer afternoon on the porch: deep, meant to be taken slow, unassuming but secretly magnificent. It starts fruity and ends spicy—befitting of its 124-proof roundhouse to the palate. Copper & Kings’ other brandies are also great, but this is the one that’ll get OC excited about something in Kentucky other than Pappy. Order up a case or 10, Mr. Hi-Time!
More information at www.copperandkings.com
