Purcellville, Va., March 2, 2010 — Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, LLC has been granted membership in the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Inc. (DISCUS). Additionally, Scott Harris, Vice President and General Manager at Catoctin Creek, has agreed to serve in a leadership role as a member of the Craft Distiller Advisory Council.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States has long worked for ensuring fair and equitable treatment for distillers, while upholding the strong commitment to responsible consumption of our products, and promoting our proud heritage.

"We are thrilled to become members of DISCUS," said Mr. Harris. "We look forward to helping to shape new public policy, both at the state and federal level, to help spur the growth of this exciting new industry and bring our products to more consumers looking for high quality and hand-crafted spirits."

More info about DISCUS at www.discus.org

It seems like every time I sit down to write one of these newsletters, it always wants to start out as "It has been a busy month for us..." At the risk of sounding repetitive, indeed February has been a busy month!

Early this month, we introduced the first drops of rye spirit into the barrel, officially and almost magically changing it into rye whisky! Sure, it won't be ready to drink for a while--it must age for a time in that new charred oak barrel--but the instant raw spirit kisses wood, it is forevermore designated "whisky". We now have a couple barrels put away of what will become Roundstone Rye.  It's nice to have this first couple batches done and set aside. A bit of a milestone, really.

We were also very pleased to obtain our Kosher certification from Star-K this month. Our first three products, Mosby's Spirit, Roundstone Rye, and Watershed Gin are all certified Kosher. We're still awaiting our organic certification, but stay tuned for that hopefully in March.

February was a brutal month for snow in Virginia. We were walloped by two major snowstorms, dumping more snow on our region than we've had in over 100 years. Of course, whisky waits for no man (or woman), so we braved the weather to ensure that production continued, even as the winds and snow howled outside our door.

The foul weather did afford us a nice opportunity to get some artsy bottle shots in the creek. My son and I trudged through 24 inch snow drifts, and then stood in freezing cold water to get some photos of our new bottles. I think the results were worth the trouble.

If you're interested, get your Catoctin Creek branded merchandise by giving us a call. We're still getting our web store set up, but we now have branded collector shot glasses and Catoctin Creek t-shirts available. All major credit cards accepted!

And don't forget, there is lots of fun and information on our Facebook and Twitter pages, where you can stay up to date with the daily activities at the distillery.

Remember, "Think Global, Drink LOCAL!"^SM

Cheers!

Scott & Becky

We are very pleased to announce that our first three products, Catoctin Creek Mosby's Spirit, Roundstone Rye Whisky, and Watershed Gin, have all achieved Kosher certification by the Star-K certification agency. Kosher certification is performed under the rabbinical supervision of Rabbis Moshe Heinemann and Eliyahu Shuman, who are among the world's foremost experts on Jewish law and kashrus, and Rabbi Tzvi Rosen, editor of Star-K’s quarterly journal, Kashrus Kurrents, and an expert on liquors and industrial kashrus.

We are proud to offer one of the nation’s only lines of Kosher spirits, and we are honored to be affiliated with Star-K who share our philosophies concerning quality organic and kosher foods, and stewardship of the planet we all share. If you have any questions concerning our Kosher certification, please contact us.

Kosher certificates can be downloaded here.

Production Begins!

January has been a whirlwind month for us at Catoctin Creek. During the last month, we finalized our equipment installation, received both our federal and state distillery permits, and began our production.  THAT was a busy month!

After receiving the equipment in late December last year, we finalized its installation. The electrical build out proved to be the largest part of our equipment installation, since both our still and our mash tank are electrically heated. Our local electricians, Purcellville Electric, did exceptional work, working alongside our Kothe representatives. We had our equipment up and running in a week! We cannot recommend either company more highly.

In late January, we also ventured down to Richmond to meet with the Virginia ABC review board. This is a necessary step in getting our products on the Virginia ABC retail shelves in 2010. We hope to hear from them in February, and rest assured, we will let you know when we do. Our starting lineup of products will include our Mosby's Spirit, a clear rye grain spirit (some call it a white whiskey) that is light and flavorful with the taste of rye grain, our Roundstone Rye, which is an aged rye whisky, and our Watershed Gin, which is wonderfully fresh and aromatic with 100% organic herbs and spices. In fact, all three spirits will be organic! Look for them in May 2010.

Once the equipment was hooked up, we began production immediately. We've already produced several gallons of our raw rye spirit, and more is being produced daily. We've posted a cool video on YouTube which shows our first production run. You can watch as we produce our first batch of rye mash, and then watch as we distill out our first spirits on the still. Very exciting and illustrative. Of course, always feel free to come by and see us in person too!

And don't forget, there is lots of fun and information on our Facebook and Twitter pages, where you can stay up to date with the daily activities at the distillery.

As I have now found myself saying each morning... "Time to make the whisky."

Cheers!

Scott & Becky