Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye

Smell: Dusty, undertone of artificial cherry, faint wood, dulled baking spices, some soapy notes,  Snifter: decently spicy, decently spiceful, also tastes dusty, good amount of wood, it's really dusty I can't understate this, some rye notes in the background, I'm thinking cereal in taste like stale cheerios?,  On ice: rye def comes out more same with very faint background notes of cherry and it's not artificial cherry but more natural, dusty baking spices are still the highlighting taste, some wood tannin comes in the aftertaste/finish, still has some wood notes,  stale cereal idea still comes to mind as a tasting note,  Drink Rec: I will say Old Pal since I think the dusty notes would be a fun idea/gimmick with the cocktail's name.  Verdict: Pass It:      It's just a dusty baking spice covered almost stale like whiskey. It's not offensive but rather puzzling in it's tasting/drinking experience. It makes me want to drink something else to wet my mouth. I am truly having a hard time trying to come up with a good cocktail drink for this since I'm afraid it will make my cocktail into the dust bowl. 

Nose - butterscotch hard candy, black tea, licorice, eucalyptus, clove, brown butter salted caramel, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch hard candy, licorice, eucalyptus, black tea, clove, semisweet oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing quickly with black tea tannic oak flavor, and young alcohol flavors. I toured (and learned how to pronounce) the Catoctin Creek distillery today. I admire that they’re distilling, aging, and bottling everything they make in-house. They use small casks and Minnesota oak to more quickly impart the characteristics of the wood to the distillate. While this rye does taste young, it’s surprising how full flavored it is for being aged under two years. The flavors are nice, however it still tastes underdeveloped. I’m very interested in trying their Rabble Rouser BiB offering, but it’s an annual release that’s difficult to find, even in Virginia.

I've visited Catoctin Creek and found them to be enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and I have high hopes for them. But at the time we visited (2014), their spirits were still aged for a fairly short time, and it showed--lots of new spirit burn and a particular burn on the nose. It does have rich, syrup-y flavors with some pepperiness that shows promise, so I look forward to older aged versions of their products.

Capsule review from Virginia Spirits Expo: On the nose this Virginia Rye has the classic dill rye note as well as banana nut bread. The palate has a hint of caramel put the baking spices shine through before returning to a short, sweet finish. A very approachable rye that tastes stronger than it's low proof.

You can smell the youth on the nose right away. The palate is very smooth which Makes sense since it’s 40 abv and an interesting oak flavor, almost like it was only toasted and not fully charred. Very minimal spice on the finish with tangerine orange to end things off. Curious why they decided on this low abv.

Nose: sorta scotchy? Kind of light but pungent. Reminds me of my white label dewars That I never drink. Old fruity malt cereal. Drunk uncles Froot Loops Palette: quick and light. Touch of rye. Mild spice, vanilla, latent alcohol Finish: quick with a twinge of rye bite leaving me wanting more...