11 Aug 2015 --- Louisville-based Copper & Kings American Brandy Co. is launching a very limited release, small batch, artisanal gin. Double distilled in a Vendome copper pot still, the apple brandy-based spirit was made with classic gin botanicals and aged in a medium-char Serbian juniper barrel for 12 months. It is non-chill filtered and unadulterated by any post distillation infusion of flavor or color.
Only 750 bottles (375mL each) will be produced and sold at the distillery store, with a tiny selection available for superlative bars and liquor stores. The original fine art label is illustrated by renowned artist Douglas Miller.
“You can have so much fun distilling, it’s a very creative platform upon which to innovate,” said founder Joe Heron. “Gin is not really our thing, truthfully. But we have experimented occasionally, and this turned out really fantastically. And is also very unusual for a gin, in terms of cloudy appearance and creamy mouth-feel. The apple-brandy base gives a natural “Old Tom” style profile, and one barrel in a cellar is essentially a stray – so we called it the Stray Cat. We also have a very strong affection for Brian Setzer.”
“We don’t dabble at distilling. For us to release a gin, it needed to be exceptional, something that reflects what we do with our American brandy and absinthe, something unique that we can be very, very proud of,” said head distiller Brandon O’Daniel. “This is spectacular. It’s a ballsy, confident, independent feline of a gin.”