Bottoms Up: Copper Horse Vodka
When it comes to the craft beer selection in the Midlands, the quality only goes up with each new brewer’s appearance. However, there is another brewer – er, distiller – in Columbia that makes some tasty alcohol.
Copper Horse Distilling, located on Huger Street, specializes in small-batch spirits made from local resources – making drinks just as tasty as they are local.
Richard Baker, who is essentially the arms, legs and brains of Copper Horse, said that the attention to detail that goes into his distillery’s spirits that sets them apart.
“We’re very careful how we distill,” Baker said. “We were actually here about a year and a half before we actually put anything on the shelf.”
Baker was careful in his journey of distilling, as he worked at several distilleries across the country and learned the ins and outs before eventually starting Copper Horse.
Those experiences helped him learn what works and what doesn’t.
“Our vodka has character to it,” he said. “There are two things that you hear about when it comes to vodka: how many times it’s distilled and how it’s filtered.”
According to Baker, those things have no real impact on the final product and only exist in marketing.
“It’s how it’s distilled, not how many times. We only distill it twice and leave some grain, which lends itself to ‘earthy’ cocktails like martinis.”
With so many quality restaurants and bars around Columbia, it’s possible to go straight to the source and buy local for your own cocktails.
A lot of bars are starting to use the Copper Horse product, and Copper Horse spirits are available in most local packaging stores.
Cheers!
Aaron Ransdell
MORE BOTTOMS UP
Lynchburg Lemonade at Moosehead Saloon
Blue Lagoon Fish Bowl at Lattitude 22
This story was originally published March 28, 2015 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Bottoms Up: Copper Horse Vodka."