DropWorks Distillers Drop #002. DropWorks are clearly not hanging about. Distillers Drop #002 arrives off the back of a debut that sold out quickly and earned a fair bit of attention.

Rather than playing that safe they’ve leaned further into the experimental side of things. For Drop #002 they’ve gone down the Bordeaux Red wine cask route. Not a short finish, not a token influence either. This has spent 28 months in ex-Bordeaux casks from the Fronsac region. Casks which previously held Merlot.

It’s bottled at a meaty 50.7% ABV with an outturn of 900 bottles, and like Drop #001, it didn’t take long for people to start snapping it up. It is as I type down the “last few bottles” according to their latest Facebook reel. You can still pick up a bottle which for a 70cl will set you back £64.75 here direct from DropWorks

The bottle itself sticks to the DropWorks house style. Clean, modern, and refreshingly free ofgimmicks. No pirates, no shipwrecks, no overwrought backstory. Just the information you actually care about, presented clearly. It probably won’t excite the marketing department but it works for the rest of us.

In the glass it’s a deeper shade than the first Drop, with a rich amber colour and the faintest reddish tint when the light hits it.

A slow swirl shows some decent weight and gives the impression this is going to be a bit more structured than its predecessor.

The nose opens with the cask influence front and centre. Red fruits appear first, more Strawberry and Plum than heavy Red Wine, followed by Caramel and light oak-ey notes. There’s a crack of Black Pepper sitting underneath it all which stops things getting too sweet. Given a bit of time, darker notes start to creep in too. A touch of Cocoa, a hint of something earthy.

On the sip it there’s heat but it’s well managed. An initial burst of spice gives
way to Caramel, Vanilla and gentle Oak. The wine cask starts to show its hand a little more with more sips. This adds a soft tannic note that gives the rum shape without drying it out too much.

As you spend time with it, deeper flavours begin to emerge. Cocoa becomes more obvious, the Oak darkens slightly, and there’s a suggestion of Stewed Fruit rather than fresh sweetness. A slight bitterness runs through the back of the palate which keeps everything in check.

The mid palate is probably where this works best. The interaction between spirit and cask feels intentional and well judged. The wine influence adds complexity rather than novelty. Crucially it still tastes like rum first and foremost. That’s not something every wine cask rum manages to pull off. Especially those that are from a “wet cask” with soem extra special sauce added……….

The finish is long and warming. Sweetness fades first, leaving Spice, Oak and that gentle wine derived dryness lingering nicely. A final echo of caramel and pepper hangs around long enough to encourage another sip, which is always a good sign.

I didn’t really mix this. I thought about it briefly, but that was as far as it got. Like Drop #001, this feels far more at home sipped neat or maybe with a cube if you’re feeling generous. You could use it to reinforce a cocktail, particularly something spiritforward, but you’d be missing the point a little.

DropWorks aren’t trying to make these Distillers Drops appeal to everyone and that’s a good thing. Drop #002 feels like a step forward rather than a repeat performance. More refined than the first, but still clearly part of the same “What happens if we try this?” thinking that makes the series worth paying attention to.

It won’t be for casual drinkers, but for those who enjoy cask forward, higher strength rums and are interested in where modern British rum is heading, this is another excellent showing.