The Tasting Panel magazine

May 2012

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New Whiskey Tasting Notes Roundstone Rye Aroma of spice and toasted swirl rye bread with hints of vanilla and leather and just a slight hint of apple. On the tongue, it's spicy up front and sweet on the back, fi nishing smoothly with lovely spice. Best served neat or in a cocktail. 24 / the tasting panel / may 2012 very state in the South can point to some kind of whiskey history. South Carolina, West Virginia and Mississippi are loaded with whiskey and moonshining stories. But some stick out more than others. Surely, Kentucky stands out, and North Carolina once had the most operating stills in the country. Often missing from the whiskey books is Loudoun County, Virginia. There's a historic house here called Whiskey Hill that overlooks Catoctin Creek and Taylor Town. The house served as a lookout for illicit distill- ers in the 19th century. During and after Prohibition, with clear springs and orchards, the backcountry served as a moonshine epicenter for the Commonwealth. Area historians discuss the fact that lawmen had to travel so far to get to 'shiners in Loudoun that the whiskey-makers could easily escape. And when they didn't escape, the bootleggers typically had the jump on the county sheriff. In fact, two revenue agents were killed in Loudoun County dur- ing Prohibition by local whiskey-makers. Today, there's a distiller in Loudoun County who doesn't need a lookout or a gun to protect his small batches from the revenuers. The Catoctin Creek Distillery in Purcellville, Virginia, is producing rye whis- key, moonshine, brandy and gin. Although it's owned by two non-natives, the Loudoun County community supports the microdis- tillery. Since opening in 2009, becoming the county's fi rst legitimate distillery here since Prohibition, Catoctin Creek averages more than 300 visitors per weekend. "We built this with our own money and in the Old Dominion E CATOCTIN CREEK BRINGS DISTILLING BACK TO ITS ROOTS IN LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye whiskey is the distiller's bestseller, earning several awards, including a Silver at the New York International Spirits Competition. Harris says the Rye represents half of his total sales. Scott and Becky Harris in the barrel room at Catoctin Creek. Made from Kansas-grown rye, the whiskey is aged six-months in 30-gallon Minnesota white oak casks with a number-three char and bottled at 80 proof. "We've tried to make a rye that was very approachable and something that is versatile," he says. "People who've never tasted whiskey before will taste it and enjoy it. I love a very assertive scotch—my favorite scotch kicks you in the teeth—but that's not for everybody, especially new whiskey drink- ers. The Roundstone is a smoother and just a little bit more subtle rye, and that works well for new drinkers." it's our baby," says owner Scott Harris, who owns and operates Catoctin with his wife, Becky. "It's not for everybody. If somebody wants us to make tutti frutti vodka, we say no thank you." But it also plays well in cocktails. "We've built a pretty good business on cocktail programs at restaurants," Harris says. "You can take some really beautiful ryes, but you make a Manhattan with it and it just doesn't play nice. This was one of the things that we were really looking for—a good rye that was a good cocktail rye." PHOTO: MARK RHODES

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