Castle & Key Restoration Rye 2020 (Batch 2)

Very smooth for a rye. Sweet caramel notes like a bourbon but also has honey and a little spice

Green apples. Vanilla

Not much different then batch #1. Fine mixer.

This was brought over by a friend along with its sister bottle. Both were purchased directly from the distillery and picked up at the sinking castle itself despite the winding and icy roads. If you’ve read my review of batch 1 you might not be expecting much. I certainly wasn’t. In the end I was pleasantly surprised. Knowing nothing of their mashbill I suspect the same distillate went into two different barrel types, batch 1 being heavy char and this being char-not-specified but with toasting. Probably all bullshit, but allow me to explain. This has the same caraway and lemongrass backbone as batch 1 but is significantly more well round. Beginning with the nose there’s is a noticeable vanilla, almost brown sugar. There is also a bit of apricot (Buffalo-trace-esque). The palate begins with light, stove-top caramel and then caraway, then a blip of candy cigarettes and them back to a slightly buttery sweetness. My guess is some degree of vanillin extraction due either to barrel toast or maybe entry proof. So, this is good. Maybe even $30 good. I could enjoy drinking this again but I won’t seek it out due to shelf space. I will say without a doubt that batch 2 is the clear winner here.

Hotter burn than the last time I had it. Still good taste, but being overwhelmed a bit by the burn.

Beautiful floral notes of stone fruit. Som brown sugar, light oak as well.

Neat. Neck pour. Batch 2. This bottle design is impressive! For $35, it’s this nice glass with a heavy top, a front plate telling the year of distillation, and a cool neck tag. Honestly, I can’t believe the packaging didn’t Jack the price up $5 buck. Been buying Castle and Key vodka to help support them, but at $35 my expectations for this rye are not high. I am pleased to see the 99 proof. Now that is rye. That is straight rye bread. The most straightforward rye in a rye whiskey. Slight vanilla and very subtle clove and citrus undertones. Not much here. Fresh rye bread. Mouth feel is nice. Not immediately inviting or creamy but not thin either. Spicy on the tongue. Lots of pepper, hint of mint. Transitions into a rye bread punch. Finish brings back the vanilla and hint of orange. The finish once the rye subsides is its best quality. Heavy rye after taste. Strangest rye. It’s essentially just rye bread. No dill. No black licorice. No bourbon qualities or enough sweet to balance. Rye bread. Its disappointing but I won’t write them off on this. Just not a hit out the gate like a New Riff or Peerless or Wilderness Trail.

The old Colonel Taylor distillery lay abandoned for many years before the new owners purchased it in 2014 and started breathing new life into it and renamed it Castle and Key. The distillery is adjacent to Glenn's Creek with three active spring springs that are used as a water source. Less than a mile to the west is Old Crow distillery and about 2 miles to the south is Woodford Reserve. All are on Glenn's Creek. About five miles to the north is Buffalo Trace Distillery. This is serious bourbon country. CK first started distilling about three years ago with Restoration Rye being their first whiskey release. They have released vodka and Restoration Gin and those have been marketed for a while. I don't consume vodka but friends who do have given it good reviews. I have tried their gin and prefer other brands. Their bourbon is to be a bib product so we have at least another year to wait. So how is the rye? Label says three years and the shy nose backs that up. It's thin in the glass but oddly the alcohol is muted. I love ryes for their nose but this one is disappointing. A drop of water opens it a bit but there still is only muted barrel and rye fragrances that are not well developed. The palate is of young rye, spicy and grassy. I went to run an errand and the glass set for an hour. The nose is much improved of custard, nutmeg and apple. The palate has evolved as well the grass is gone and the texture has moved toward oily. The custard is there with faint baking spices. Grassiness remains faint on the finish but it's nicely dry Not much on the finish but I have yet to be overwhelmed by a rye under 4-5 years. Future releases will likely be better with more age.