Copper & Kings Hazmat Apple Brandy & 15-Yr Apple Brandy Finished Bourbon

Our 12 Days of Whiskey may be over, but the new releases are just getting started. Today we’re back with not one, but two standout bottles from Louisville’s Copper & Kings that should have spirit enthusiasts paying attention.
 
After changing hands in recent years, Copper & Kings is back under ownership that understands why people fall in love with spirits in the first place. This new era brings the brand closer to its original ethos, prioritizing authenticity, creativity, and the experience of the drinker over scale or shortcuts. For enthusiasts, it’s a signal that Copper & Kings is once again building for the long term. 

First up is a limited 9-year Apple Brandy - one of the most powerful expressions of their core craft. Aged entirely in Kentucky ex-bourbon barrels and bottled at a commanding 143.6 proof, it captures the depth, structure, and character that long aging brings to American brandy. 
 
On the nose, warm baked apple and toasted oak rise first, followed by a thread of spice from nearly a decade in barrel.
 
The palate is dense and expressive with layers of stewed apple, charred oak, and structured spice that unfold with clarity despite the elevated proof.
 
The finish is long, warm, and balanced, with the fruit and oak holding steady all the way through. 
 
This is brandy without shortcuts: 100% apple. 9 years in oak. No sugar. No additives. Non-chill filtered. A rare, high-proof release that showcases what American Apple Brandy can be when time, patience, and Kentucky barrels do their work.
 
Next up is a release that immediately brings us back to the early Bardstown Bourbon Co. collaboration days with Copper & Kings, when curiosity was always rewarded.
 
When C&K were creating their core Bourbon Blend, they found a few extra barrels laying around. In true Copper & Kings fashion, they followed their curiosity. They took a legacy 15-year-old Kentucky Bourbon barrel, freshly dumped, and filled it into a just-emptied Apple Brandy barrel. Three quiet years later, they tapped it and couldn’t believe what they tasted. 
 
This Bourbon, finished in Apple Brandy barrels and bottled at 127.8 proof, is rich in color, flavor, and mouthfeel.
 
The nose opens with classic Kentucky notes - caramel, vanilla, and toffee - lifted by a subtle brandy-born sweetness that sparks curiosity.
 
On the palate, soft layers of oak, molasses, and a touch of maple unfold with unexpected grace.
 
Despite its proof, the finish is remarkably smooth: the Apple Brandy barrel rounds off the tannins, letting it drink closer to 110 than 128.