Catoctin Creek Rabble Rouser Bottled in Bond Rye

Delicious. Very smooth with a clean sherry finish

Rating: 16/23 N: Fairly full and woody, but mellow. There's some nice pear and apple rounding it out with mild vanilla sitting in the background. Some dry tartness and sharp spiciness for sure, as would be expected of a rye. Not an amazing nose, but it's nicely balanced with good scents. P: Not quite as full as the nose suggested. There's plenty of wood, which gives way to bitterness, but also spice with some musty nuance. And some minerals mix in as well with a little bit of vanilla sweetness. That dry rye character is certainly here as well. This is nicely balanced. It might be a bit too tannic and not quite as full as I'd like, but there's enough complexity to keep it going and it nails a nice traditional profile.Faint caramel and a sort of hollow apple flavor at points. F: Tannins, wood, spice. A bit of vanilla and hollow apple come with a gulp of air. This is finish is a tad too austere. - Conclusion - This is a well-executed rye. It leans a bit too heavily into the wood and doesn't develop as much as I'd like, but it's quite enjoyable. It lacks the elegance of Whistlepig Piggyback (16-17/23), but it's quite enjoyable. It's certainly closer to that than it is to my bottle of Smooth Ambler Old Scout Single Barrel Cask Strength 4 year (14/23). It's definitely a 15 or 16 and while I was initially thinking a 15, it's closer to my fresh(ish) bottle of Whistlepig PiggyBack than I'd expected, so a 16 is a very real possibility. I'm inclined to say that because its tannins are less aggressive than those of George Dickel Single Barrel 15 (15/23), this is the better whiskey and it deserves a 16. Big thanks for sharing this one @ctbeck11 ! Catoctin Creek has done a great job here. Definitely a distillery to watch.

Coming from someone who’s not a bourbon or rye drinker, this blew me away - incredible flavors - good luck finding, it’s NoVa’s worst-kept secret - amazing, amazing rye

Nose of sugar, caramel and honey, palate of brown sugar, grass, cinnamon, long sweet finish

Nose: whoa...what an odd nose. Like it almost smells spoiled. I really can’t get past this. Like spoiled milk. I’m weirdly shocked. I mean if they were going for a unique profile on the nose they definitely got one. Palate: holy rye. This thing is so potent and grassy. It’s basically like the double IPA of rye whiskeys I feel like. At least it’s not as bad as the nose. This is truly insane. Finish: some metal-type flavor. Overall: idk whether to give this a positive review or really negative. I’m not a huge rye fan but I’ve tasted ones that I thought were great (M10, THH, even the Crown 16 year Rye). This one is like in its own category of rye I feel like. For the price I definitely don’t love it. Gonna have to try this after it stays open for a while. Would love to know if anyone else gets a weird nose on this though so please inform me?