In yet another very entertaining and informative review, Warren Bobrow lays out the history of Moonshine in a brief review of three artisan products:  Mosby's Spirit, Few's White Whiskey, and Tuthilltown's spirit:

Sharp on the nose, sweet organic grains give way to vanilla elements and candy sugar finish. Cork finished bottle is a nice way of showing that the quality of the product within is carefully made and cared for, right down to the packaging. No screw tops here! The flavors of freshly toasted Rye bread smeared with sweet butter and spicy apricot jam comes into view. There is toasted rye bread in every sip, along with a light burn in the mouth. Un-aged Rye takes on notes of hoe-cakes drenched in maple syrup with vanilla like notes on the finish. Some say this White Whiskey tastes like Tequila! This is tasty stuff- I see a white “Margarita” cocktail when I sip this spirit.

Read the full review here.  There's also a smashing cocktail with the review, which we've included here.

In their March/April 2012 issue, Viva Tysons Magazine does a feature story on our distillery:

After one particular trip to Ireland, where the Harrises spent time at the Bushmills [distillery]--the oldest distillery where Irish whisky is made--Scott decided that he wanted to open a distillery near their Virginia home.

"It was a crazy idea and my wife really didn't think I would do it," the 41 year-old says.  "I kept thinking back to the Bushmills [distillery] and being on that factory floor with those massive copper kettles and stills and seeing the entire production, and I said to myself, 'I want this.'"

You can read the full story, below, or get your copy near Tysons, McLean, Falls Church, Great Falls, Oakton or Vienna.

The Fifty Best recently conducted a formal blind tasting of 24 gins, and our own Catoctin Creek Watershed Gin received a silver medal in the tasting:

Nose: Floral, juniper, herbal, sweet citrus, honey, sweet buttercream frosting, fig, tangerine, raisin bran, cucumber. Palate: Pine resin, juniper, citrus notes, herbal spice, coriander, hot nutmeg, spice, botanicals, Earl Grey tea, citrus, raisin, flowers, licorice, anise, mint, menthol, oily, nice, good complexity. Finish: Juniper, cinnamon, minerals, light pepper, smooth, even, hot.

Silver Medal

Read the entire article, with tasting notes of all the winners at The Fifty Best.

I can think of no better Valentine's gift than to get a beautiful review from Kevin Kosar on our Roundstone Rye whisky.  Along with Becky, Kevin was one of the other guests on the Kojo Nnambi show back in January.  We're really thrilled that he enjoyed the whisky so much:

Rated **** - At a whiskey tasting party we attended a year ago, three ryes were set out and this one was preferred by most tipplers. That is because most ryes tend to be peppery, which makes them a bit intense for many drinkers.

Read the full review here.

In their March 2012 issue, Kashrus Magazine does a feature story called "INFUSION, The New Challenge For Bourbon and Rye" which describes the perils of port and wine cask aging for many new Bourbons and ryes on the market today. Alongside this feature is a piece called "The New Kosher Liquors" which just happens to feature our spirits prominently!

Beginning with their initial run, the majority of the distillery's products... have been made under the supervision of "Star K" Kosher Certification.

One of the most interesting is Catoctin Creek's Roundstone Rye®. This smooth, tawny colored rye is aged for a few months in new white oak barrels. It has flavors and aromas of vanilla, oak, caramel, lemon, and allspice. A pleasant sipping whiskey, Roundstone Rye is also a good choice for use in bitters-driven cocktails, such as the Old Fashioned.

Read the full review here. L'chaim!