Merchandise

Catoctin Creek offers a range of branded items, from clothing to glassware. Be sure to check out our online store.

Get Your Free Stickers

We are giving away cool "international" style CCDC bumper stickers.  Show everyone that you support your favorite local distillery!  When you see "CCDC" think Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, the best in local, organic and kosher spirits!

To receive your free stickers, simply visit us at the distillery, or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Catoctin Creek Distillery
37251C East Richardson Lane
Purcellville, VA 20132-3505

Please note how many you would like.  We ship out two per envelope by default.  While supplies last.  Get yours today!

Mobile Media | Social Media

Want to stay up to date with the latest cocktails, events, news, and videos on your iPhone, iPad, Android, or other mobile device?  Interact with the distillery and get all the latest info on our new app, available for both Apple and Android platforms.  Download your FREE mobile app, here:

Stay up to date with daily production notes, cocktails, news, events, contests, giveaways, and other fun chatter on Facebook and Twitter, here:

And don't forget to check out our growing playlist on YouTube.  Our YouTube videos highlight various aspects of the production process for those who cannot come by for a tour. The videos are fun and informative.

NBC Nightly News

June 2, 2010. From NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams:

In a small Virginia town, Becky and Scott Harris started a new enterprise...a mom- and-pop distillery! And the business is flying high! NBC's Wendy Jones reports.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Our Playlist on YouTube

On YouTube, we maintain a growing playlist of fun videos highlighting the production of our Mom-n-Pop distillery. You'll see mashing, distilling, feeding spent mash to the cows, steam cleaning, making gin, bottling, and just about every other aspect of this very hands-on business.

Imagine

by Anonymous

Maj. (later Col.) John Singleton Mosby was an important figure in the War Between the States and certainly one of the best-known. Mosby's legend is fascinating and the truth behind it is powerful.

For many people, a short-lived TV series called The Gray Ghost served as a spark to ignite interest in that horrible war. The Confederate States of America were the "Tea Party" of the day, advocates of States' Rights. It's the wrong century, but Ron Paul would understand them. (We are not trying to be political here, just setting the perspective.)

The TV show had a theme voice-over:

We took our men from Texas, Kentucky, Virginia,
the Mountains, and the backwoods and the plains.
We put them under orders guerrilla fighting orders
and what we lacked in numbers, we made up in speed and brains.
Both Rebs and Yankee strangers, they called us Mosby Rangers.
Both North and South, they knew our fame.
Gray Ghost is what they called me,
John Mosby is my name.

The TV series seemed rather fanciful. It was around the time of popular "kids' shows" about Zorro, Sir Lancelot, Robin Hood and other mostly-fictional characters. Surprisingly, books about Col. Mosby indicate that the TV series was remarkably accurate. (The series was reportedly canceled because it portrayed the Confederate States of America in a favorable light, just as racial tensions were rising in the U.S. and sponsors became nervous.) You might want to look for some video on Youtube.com or buy a DVD; perhaps read a book or two from Amazon.com or your local library. Even those items fail to tell the whole story of John S. Mosby.

Col. Mosby and his Rangers rode in the part of Virginia that now hosts the Catoctin Creek Distilling Company. The area was known as Mosby's Confederacy. Being a bit on the fringes of the Confederate States of America and a little too far away from the United States' reach, the local inhabitants relied on Col. Mosby to keep the peace. Mosby was a "raider" and "guerrilla fighter" but he fought for a cause and for the good of his people.

Mosby had a dedicated following among his troops. They loved and respected him. How often do you hear that about any leader? But there's a lot more about John Mosby. Before the War, he may have been a bit of a "hot head." When he was a student at the University of Virginia, Mosby found it necessary to shoot a local man and was expelled from school. After the War, Mr. Mosby became a diplomat -- a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, serving as Consul in Hong Kong. Still later, he was an attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad. He had a varied and successful life with multiple careers and great influence.

Having served in a number of Foreign Service assignments, this writer can appreciate the contrasts of Col. Mosby's life among his troops in the wilderness, his position in commercial business, political interaction in Washington and his diplomatic posting overseas. Those are radically different jobs; the gentleman was quite adaptable. Perhaps above all, he had a strict code of morality and he held his men and staff to high standards.

So what does that have to do with the Catoctin Creek Distilling Company's marvelous products? Well, personally, I think that Col. Mosby would have happily stopped by and enjoyed supper at the Catoctin Creek abode, had it been there at the time. He would have posted a couple of men to keep watch and allowed the rest to sip on some of the raw, unpolished, fresh and delightful liquid which is now called Mosby's Spirit. Although the Colonel is not known to have consumed alcoholic drinks, for this nectar, it's most probable that he would have crossed that line and taken some sips. After all, it was War, his men were enjoying the drink and he always supported them. Too, Col. Mosby was known to enjoy the finest of things in life.

That said, it was indeed wartime. At best, Mosby and his men would have sipped the wonderful drink from clay or metal cups. If you enjoy your Mosby's Spirit from a small metal cup, you're on the right path. If you have a Mason Jar, that'll work, too. Not from Col. Mosby's time, but if you want to savor and critically appreciate every possible facet of your Mosby's Spirit or Roundstone Rye, you might want to invest in a special Glencairn Whisky Glass. Designed for Scotch Whisky, the glasses are perfect for our use. The Glencairn glass makes it easy to appreciate the clarity of the organic Mosby's Spirit and then to savor the fresh and fruity scent and finally, of course, enjoy the feel and taste of the marvelous liquid. Overall, to me it evokes images of the young Mosby or perhaps his youngest Rangers or even the civilian teenage girl who smuggled supplies or secrets for the Rangers. Young, spirited, clean and bold.

Later in life, John S. Mosby was a diplomat, the U.S. Counsel to the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, the official representative of the United States. Of course, diplomats must sometimes be more dignified and refined than Army troops in the field. When possible, I imagine that he might have a cool glass of Roundstone Rye that's Mosby's Spirit after it's aged -- to wind down after a difficult day. As a diplomat of stature in an important posting, he would probably enjoy it from an elegant cut-glass container -- Waterford Crystal, perhaps -- or an equally intricate and elegant silver cup. Hong Kong can sometimes be damp and chilly. We know that Colonel Mosby enjoyed great coffee, but maybe just a bit of Roundstone Rye, to ward off the chills... This is a more mature whiskey, perhaps more "gentlemanly" and less brash than Spirit, but now with a most beautiful color and sophistication along with feel and taste of something very very special. If Spirit was the young Ranger or civilian teenage girl, Roundstone is a commanding officer, President, or perhaps, the educated and refined Lady who aided the Cause. As an exception, though, it's probable that anyone of any age who was preparing for the next day's battle would prefer Mosby's Spirit for its "out front" and "immediate" nature.

While abroad, Mosby the diplomat would have encountered British diplomats, perhaps all too often. While most types of "gin" are considered as "undrinkable" by many rational people, Watershed Gin would have undoubtedly been Mosby's favorite to serve to fellow members of the Diplomatic Corps and to important officials of Hong Kong. Diplomats serve and showcase their nation's products whenever possible, and Mosby would certainly have enjoyed serving such a marvelous nectar from his Virginia. A gin-and-tonic or a martini ... made with Watershed Gin ... would make the most obnoxious diplomatic matter (and obnoxious diplomats!) a bit more tolerable and it might have resulted in new treaties between the nations.

These days, you can enjoy the raw boldness of Mosby's Spirit, generally without the worry of Union Troops riding in and arresting or shooting you. Too, you can sip some Roundstone Rye and Watershed Gin while you ponder the works Mr. Mosby did in Asia while still following his code of morality. He fought, successfully, against the U.S. Department of State when he uncovered malfeasance and scandalous performance among the U.S. Foreign Service. Truly a man to be admired!

If you're a Yankee, take comfort in the fact that Mosby represented the United States in a vital and difficult part of the world and he did so in an outstanding way, single-handedly driving a campaign to clean up the corrupt practices of the U.S. representatives in the region. If you're a Reb, note that John Singleton Mosby continues to live in the hills, valleys, woods and fields of Virginia, even after 1-1/2 centuries, as evidenced by the many things named after him. In Virginia, there remains his tangible spirit of independence and "doing what's right."

Long after the war, after Hong Kong, after most of John S. Mosby's mortal experiences (and victories), in the Texas newspaper McKinney Gazette (Dec. 16, 1886), Eld. R. C. Horn wrote:

'John Mosby,' an old confederate friend of his said to me, 'is as poor as a church mouse. ... He came out of the war without a dollar and I don't think he saved anything abroad. ... John S. Mosby is a slight, bent, blonde, man, with a cold gray eye containing no more expression than a boy's marble. He talks slowly, never gets excited, and does not know what fear is. He loves his friends, hates his enemies and carries his fight to the death.'

Loving his friends and giving the max to his fight ... how can anyone fail to salute that spirit?

Of course, this is not only about Col. Mosby, it's about the marvelous present-day products that are created in the land that was (and still is) Mosby's Confederacy. It's clear that the Colonel's influence, independence, determination, honor and sense of "right" are still right at home.

The Catoctin Creek products are all Outstanding, literally the stuff for imagination. You've heard the phrase, "limited only by your imagination." Imagining solutions to problems, things that need to be built or invented, the way things used to be, the way things should be. Indeed. No limitations.

Pour it,
lean back,
sip it,
close your eyes.
And imagine.

Note: If you are a member of the U.S. Foreign Service or the military (either Rebs or Yanks), please drop in to visit us when you're on Home Leave or R&R and taste some of our products!

P.S. - If you want to hear the story behind the name Roundstone Rye, you need to visit us in person!