Copper Fox: A Luscious Liquor Made With Love
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Photo by Peyton Tochterman
Adult beverages from Copper Fox distillery.
By Peyton Tochterman
n the rolling, courtly expanses of Virginia, where the Blue Ridge Mountains stretch like the crooked spine of an old paint mare, there’s a place where alchemy and old-world charm ferment together in a heady concoction of spirits. It’s called Copper Fox Distillery, and behind its burnished name is Sean McCaskey, a man whose life’s journey to this point could very well be the plot of a heartwarming novel. A man of few words and many trades, including that of an industrial electrician, Sean found his way to Virginia in pursuit of a romance that would make even the most cynical soul believe in the power of a good old-fashioned love story. He spent a year working, traveling the country, writing letters (not emails), to his then girlfriend, now wife, Susan, a Hill School teacher who he saw only once that entire year because of his arduous schedule. He followed his heart to historic Welbourne, only to have his life take another unexpected turn in the basement of his friend Rick Wasmund’s Sperryville house. There, amidst the comforting aroma of aging spirits, he was coaxed over sips of liquid courage into helping birth a distillery. The notion might have seemed a bit quixotic back in 2005, when Sean was dividing his time between his family’s electrical company and the nascent distillery. But just like in any good story, perseverance was key. Before long, Copper Fox was
not just a distillery but a progenitor, with Rick as president of the Virginia Distillers Association—a knightly order if there ever was one—advocating for all the small craft distillers in the realm. The setting of Copper Fox is something out of a Thomas Hardy novel—surrounded by the Thornton River with views of Old Rag Mountain. Here, in a place open seven days a week, from the sensible hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., one can sip on mixed drinks and meander through bucolic fields and mountain trails. And there’s another distillery in Williamsburg, just for good measure. Sean’s past life working on ethanol plants and emergency electrical rescues has all been a prologue to the main event—making whiskey. It starts with grain from the Northern Neck of Virginia and involves a process of malting, germinating, and smoking that would make even the most weathered Scottish distiller nod in respect. At Copper Fox, they don’t just distill spirits; they imbue them with love. Visitors leave not just with whiskey but with “love water”—ordinary H2O that’s been charged with positive thoughts. The future for Copper Fox is as bright as the gleam in a glass of their finest single malt. The fiveyear plan is all about organic growth, a journey to make Copper Fox a name synonymous with Virginia’s best, known up and down the East Coast. It’s not just about crafting whiskey; it’s about making people happy, imparting a bit of that love into every bottle, every tour, every sip.
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