Product Description
Situated in Purcellville, Virginia, the Catoctin Creek Distillery opened its doors in 2009 under husband and wife team Becky and Scott Harris. The name “Catoctin” is a regional name (pronounced Ka-TOCK-tin) and derives from the Indian tribal name “Kittocton” which, legend has it, meant “place of many deer.” Famous for their award winning rye whisky, Catoctin’s Chief Distiller Becky Harris uses a mashbill consisting of 100% locally-sourced and organic Virginian rye to produce what Catoctin call ‘The Virginia Rye Whisky’. This small-scale pre-Prohibition distillation method of using home-sized pot stills, local grain and family recipes, has benefited from the incorporation of modern knowledge and technology resulting in over one hundred awards and accolades. A sip of Roundstone Rye is truly a sip of the essence of Virginia; it starts with local Virginia grain, always made from 100% rye, that is mashed and fermented on site then distilled in copper pot stills before being aged in new charred Virginia oak barrels soaking up the bucolic Virginia climate while it develops flavour from the barrel. The final ingredient, natural Virginia spring water, is used to proof the whisky before bottling and adds another key piece of terroir in the form of limestone and minerals in the water into the spirit. The result is a rye whisky that is authentically made using tradition and the finest agriculture that Virginia offers.
The bouquet shows a tartness of redcurrant, mixed with strawberry jam. Vanilla, toffee with a streak of menthol, that turns to aniseed and fennel. There are some notes of molasses, raisins and prunes even, with just a slight touch of soy sauce. After it’s opened up come blood oranges, or maybe an orange syrup or marmalade. The palate shows a wonderful balance of sweetness and bitterness from the wood as a first impression. And it follows very well from the bouquet again, that tartness from the redcurrant, with wood tannins creating a nice cloying mouthfeel. Peppermint. Then the sugary goodness: molasses and prunes again. Blackcurrants and elderberry. A slug of port before drifting into a slightly woody finish. For it’s the balance on the finish, again of the sweetness and the bitterness, which makes this such a great whiskey.