First Impressions
Copperhead Black Batch takes pharmacist Yvan Vindevogel's original five-botanical recipe and darkens it with elderflower, black pepper, and coffee. The ABV is raised to 42% — two points above the original — to carry the additional botanical complexity. Where the original Copperhead is bright and clean, Black Batch is deeper, more complex, and designed for evening drinking.
Tasting
The original five botanicals plus elderflower, black pepper, and coffee. The nose is dark and complex: coffee depth, elderflower lift, pepper spice. On the palate at 42%, rich and layered — coffee's bitter depth meets elderflower's delicate sweetness, black pepper provides warmth, cardamom and juniper persist from the original recipe. The finish is coffee and pepper with fading elderflower.
The Bottom Line
Copperhead Black Batch earns a 7 — the coffee, elderflower, and pepper additions transform the original into something darker and more complex without losing its identity. The pharmacist's precision remains evident: nothing overwhelms. Best in an Espresso Martini where the coffee botanical amplifies, or in a G&T after sundown. At £38, the alchemist's after-dark creation.
