IamMatt Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 I finished my bottle recently, and I had this thought: You know how sometimes someone does those home DNA kits like 23-and-me and finds out they have some unknown secret cousin or sister out there that nobody knew about? This is like OF Whiskey Row did a 23-and-me and found out that they had a secret sibling, like OF 1910 was fooling around on the side with some hot redhead and had a daughter nobody knew about til now named Coopers Craft. Maybe it's just the whiskey talking. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obree Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 5 hours ago, IamMatt said: I finished my bottle recently, and I had this thought: You know how sometimes someone does those home DNA kits like 23-and-me and finds out they have some unknown secret cousin or sister out there that nobody knew about? This is like OF Whiskey Row did a 23-and-me and found out that they had a secret sibling, like OF 1910 was fooling around on the side with some hot redhead and had a daughter nobody knew about til now named Coopers Craft. Maybe it's just the whiskey talking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richnimrod Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 My experience with Cooper's Craft consists of only one bottle, from the original offering. The stuff was so bad I berated my retailer, from whom I've bought pretty much all my whiskey... other than a goodly number of EWSB's back in the day (hunting down bottles from particularly good barrels at local outlets of Meijer's Grocery stores... and recommended he send his allotment of CC back to the distributor. I tried to drink away the bottle using it in various cocktail concoctions over a few months. I wound up pouring the last half or so of the 750 down the kitchen sink drain. ...One of the very few bottles I've ever done that with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryT Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 7 hours ago, IamMatt said: I finished my bottle recently, and I had this thought: You know how sometimes someone does those home DNA kits like 23-and-me and finds out they have some unknown secret cousin or sister out there that nobody knew about? This is like OF Whiskey Row did a 23-and-me and found out that they had a secret sibling, like OF 1910 was fooling around on the side with some hot redhead and had a daughter nobody knew about til now named Coopers Craft. Maybe it's just the whiskey talking. That is hilarious!! My experience was similar to Richnimrod. I bought a couple of 50 mL bottles when it first came out, excited to try it - until I opened and tasted them. I was similarly excited when Early Times announced they would release a straight bourbon . . . and similarly disappointed in the bottle. But as they say - different strokes/different folks; glad you're enjoying it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulO Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 My recollection is Cooper's Craft is the standard Old Forester except aged in barrels with grooves cut into the inside, the purpose to increase surface area. My bottle tasted a lot like OF 100. It was decent, but I wouldn't pay a big mark up over OF 100. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 23 hours ago, PaulO said: My recollection is Cooper's Craft is the standard Old Forester except aged in barrels with grooves cut into the inside, the purpose to increase surface area. My bottle tasted a lot like OF 100. It was decent, but I wouldn't pay a big mark up over OF 100. That sounds familiar. I remember seeing those barrels when doing the Brown Forman cooperage tour. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 41 minutes ago, flahute said: That sounds familiar. I remember seeing those barrels when doing the Brown Forman cooperage tour. Same. I was underwhelmed. That tour though, wasn't it great? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flahute Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 11 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said: Same. I was underwhelmed. That tour though, wasn't it great? Oh yeah! One of the favorite things I've done that's distillery related. You can really feel the heat when those barrel insides are on fire. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, flahute said: Oh yeah! One of the favorite things I've done that's distillery related. You can really feel the heat when those barrel insides are on fire. Agreed. We weren't sure what to expect, but the entire tour was a blast. Very interesting, educational, fun & definitely one of the highlights of our last KY trip. Edited March 19, 2023 by Skinsfan1311 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 While the standard Cooper’s Craft really has not done much for me, I’ve enjoyed the 100 proof version. It has been a consistent repeat buy bourbon for me. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan1311 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 50 minutes ago, smokinjoe said: While the standard Cooper’s Craft really has not done much for me, I’ve enjoyed the 100 proof version. It has been a consistent repeat buy bourbon for me. Interesting. I found the original release to be pretty pretty bad. I left it on the bar at a tailgate. If I see the 100 proof version, reasonably priced, I might give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurgalunas Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 Yeah, the 100 is different. Worth the money spent. Much better than the base CC. Not a repeat buy for me yet, but I've been tiring of the OF profile lately. Seems like BF uses those grooves in the barrels for JD Sinatra, if I recall the tasting with Jeff Arnett correctly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean E Posted March 20, 2023 Share Posted March 20, 2023 I agree the Cooper's Craft 100 is pretty tasty and a good purchase for the money. Always keep a bottle in the cabinet. Dean 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcpfratn Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 The original release of Coopers Craft was definitely crap, but the latest releases and especially the 100 are pretty good! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bourbon Sabbath Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 I'm thinking Coopers is where all the Early Times BIB juice is going now. Very similar profiles to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 The 100 proof is far superior to the 82. In fact the 82 proof is being discontinued. Interesting note about routing the grooves in the barrel. Yes it does increase the wood to whiskey ratio but they also leave the waste from cutting the grooves in the barrel during aging. Then it is filtered through beech and birch charcoal. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IamMatt Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 10 hours ago, Bourbon Sabbath said: I'm thinking Coopers is where all the Early Times BIB juice is going now. Very similar profiles to me. I have no idea if this is accurate. I have never had the Brown Forman ET BIB but I recently did a 9-way 100-proof shootout and Cooper's Craft 100 handily beat the Saz version of ET BIB for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 8 hours ago, Old Hippie said: The 100 proof is far superior to the 82. In fact the 82 proof is being discontinued. Interesting note about routing the grooves in the barrel. Yes it does increase the wood to whiskey ratio but they also leave the waste from cutting the grooves in the barrel during aging. Then it is filtered through beech and birch charcoal. Interesting info on the keeping the ground up wood on the barrel! How/when/where is this done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 5:49 PM, smokinjoe said: Interesting info on the keeping the ground up wood on the barrel! How/when/where is this done? at the cooperage. B-F owns their own cooperage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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