In April, Magnolia's hosted our Catoctin Creek cocktail dinner, and featured five excellent Prohibition-era and pre-Prohibition cocktails.

Here they are, for your enjoyment:

Rye Punch
Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye "Cask Proof"
Plum-ginger beer
Lemon juice
Lime juice
Soda
Cardamom bitters

Ramos Gin Fizz (Magnolia's Style)
Catoctin Creek Watershed Gin
Lime juice
Aqua fava (chick pea liquid from the can)
Sugar
Orange flower water
Soda

Roffignac
Catoctin Creek 1757 Brandy
Raspberry shrub
Soda

Apple Brandy Crusta
Catoctin Creek Apple Brandy
Maraschino liqueur
Angostura bitters
Baked apple bitters
Lemon juice
Cointreau

Rye Shrub
Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye
Date and vanilla shrub
Cream

Recipes courtesy Matt Perkins, Magnolia's at the Mill, and used with permission.

 

Last night, Becky and I had dinner and drinks at Dino's Grotto in Shaw in DC.  Not only do they have amazing Italian food, but a cocktail menu that features tons of local distillers--like us! Ric Newton, head bartender there, has a cocktail he invented called the Ric Flair.  It's a great drink, the woodsy flavor of the amaro and vermouth blends perfectly with the cherry liqueur and bouncy rye.  Absolutely delicious!  Be sure to ask for it with the Catoctin Creek rye!

1½ oz Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye
½ Cherry Heering
½ Nardini Amaro
½ Cinzano sweet vermouth
Dash of aromatic bitters
Dash of orange bitters

Combine, stir, strain over fresh ice. Orange twist.

Courtesy Ric Newton, Dino's Grotto bar.

These were the featured cocktails for Valentine's Day 2017.  Please share with the one you love...

A Lovely Flower in the Middle of a Pond

2 oz rose and lavender tea infused Mosby's Spirit
½ oz honey syrup (1 part honey, 1 part boiling water)
½ oz lemon juice
¼ oz Luxardo
¼ oz El Guapo (rose syrup)
3 dashes lavender bitters
candied rose for garnish

Shake all ingredients together, strain in a martini glass.

Mon Amour

2 oz Watershed Gin
3 oz ruby red grapefruit juice
½ oz St. Germain
1 oz tarragon simple syrup
club soda
fresh tarragon to garnish

Shake all ingredients except soda, strain into a Nick & Nola glass over fresh ice and top with club soda.

Ti Adoro

Ice- ¾ oz Campari & 2 oz Water freeze in large cube tray

2 oz Roundstone Rye
1 oz good Italian vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
Orange peel for garnish

Combine rye, vermouth and bitters in an old fashioned glass. Add large Campari ice cube, stir. Express orange peel into drink, wipe rim with peel and side it into the side of the drink.

I Was Wrong

... which always leads to a happy ending.

1½ oz 1757 Virginia Brandy
1 oz Don Ciccio walnut liqueur
¾ oz lemon/grenadine simple syrup (lemon simple syrup mixed with True tonic grenadine syrup)
2 dashes angostura bitters
egg white (optional but delicious!)
brandied cherry to garnish

Shake all ingredients vigorously and strain into a coup glass.

This recipe comes to us from spirits writer, Matthew Rowley. You can read about it on his blog, here. We love this pie so much, but took the audacious step of replacing rum with our Roundstone Rye. Rye and ginger are such happy bedfellows, after all.

1 unbaked pie crust
¼-⅓ cup minced young ginger
2½ oz Roundstone Rye
1½ cups sugar
8 Tbl unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ tsp salt
3 eggs
2½ Tbsp all purpose flour
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest

At least one hour before beginning, combine the ginger and rum in a small bowl or jar and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs one at the time and mix after each addition. Add remaining ingredients, including the rum and ginger, and combine thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie crust and bake at 350F about 50 minutes, until the center has mostly set, but is still just a little wobbly – it will firm on standing. It should have a slightly darkened, crusty top. If necessary, cover the pan with a tented piece of aluminum foil or an overturned stainless steel bowl to prevent overbrowning while the pie bakes.

Warm, the pie cries for heavy dollops of whipped cream barely able to hold itself together. Cold, it’s best to sneak mall slivers while the rest of the house sleeps.

Recipe courtesy Matthew Rowley and used with permission.

A smokey twist on the Old Fashioned, what we call "The Churchill." This cocktail features an excellent Lapsang souchong tea from Dominion Tea (just down the street from the distillery!). Lapsang souchong is a black tea, traditionally dried with pinewood, which imparts a delicious smokiness.

Winston Churchill reportedly enjoyed putting a peated scotch in his tea, but I'm quite sure that's only because he couldn't get his hands on our Roundstone Rye.

We top that off with fantastic chocolate bitters from Embitterment and a house made cocktail cherry.

1 oz Roundstone Rye
½ oz Lapsang syrup*
Dash of chocolate bitters
Brandied cocktail cherry for garnish

Combine the ingredients in a rocks glass with a big chunk of ice and garnish with the cherry.

*Lapsang syrup:

Steep simering simple syrup with loose leaf lapsang souchong tea for about 10 minutes. Strain out the tea leaves after steeping.

Recipe courtesy Jonathan Coate.

We're featuring a new drink for New Year's, our take on a French 75, featuring the Watershed Gin, fresh raspberry lemon juice, and sparkling cider. Come on by and raise a parting glass to 2016!

1½ oz watershed Gin
1 oz raspberry lemon juice*
1 oz Sparkling Cider or Champagne

Combine the ingredients in a flute or stemmed glass.  Garnish with a lemon peel.

*Raspberry lemon juice:
Combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil to combine, then reduce to simmer and add raspberries. Mash with potato masher or spatula. Simmer until a rich color and flavor, then strain.

Combine 3 parts of lemon juice with 1 part raspberry syrup.

This cocktail is cross-posted from the fantastic Instagram account @spiritedla, Hannah Chamberlain, who features amazing cocktails with stunning photography. Also check out her BuzzFeed pages.

What do you call a New Orleans resident who takes their civic and drinking responsibilities seriously?
...An absinthe-ee voter.

I'm officially ready to be a dad. 🤓

This New Orleans classic cocktail has experienced less of a resurgence than its sisters (the Sazerac and Vieux Carré) but it's a beautiful use for your Benedictine and Absinthe if you like the other two. Less bold than a Sazerac, but less subtle than a Vieux Carre, it's recently become one of my nightly go-tos.

2 oz Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye
¾ oz sweet vermouth
½ oz Benedictine
2 dashes St. George absinthe
3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Luxardo cherry (not pictured due to casualties – RIP to our fallen garnish)

Combine all in a shaker of ice, and strain into a coupe.

Recipe and photo courtesy of @spiritedla.

Sam Scarlett bartends at Hugo, the cocktail bar at WK Hearth in Purcellville.  He's a dashing young fellow, and despite his youthful age, he is a genius behind the stick.  We share four of his creations with you here.  

(Sic Semper Secales shown above)

2009, A Rye Odyssey

1½ oz Mosby's Spirit, Milk-washed, turmeric infused
¾ oz lemon juice
White pepper
Egg white
Sugar
Activated charcoal for garnish

Shake the spirit, lemon, pepper, egg white and sugar in a shaker of ice.  Pour into a rocks glass with a couple cubes, and sprinkle the charcoal on the foam for garnish.

A Catoctin Caper

2 oz Watershed Gin
Splash of caper jus
1 oz Dolin dry vermouth
Dash of orange bitters
Fried crispy capers for garnish

Combine vermouth, caper jus, and gin in a shaker of ice. Stir and pour neat into a martini glass. Add a dash of orange bitters. Garnish with two capers.

Sic Semper Secales®

2 oz Roundstone Rye
½ oz black pepper and beet shrub
½ oz gomme syup
½ oz lime juice

Combine in a shaker and strain into a rocks glass with a couple cubes.  Garnish with a skewer of pickled yellow beet.

A Scottish Rabble

2 oz Rabble Rouser Rye Whisky
1 oz rosemary infused Dolin sweet vermouth
Dash of Angostura bitters
Brandied cherry garnish

Combine vermouth, whisky, and bitters in a shaker of ice.  Stir and pour neat into a martini glass with a garnish of cherry.

Recipes courtesy of Sam Scarlett.

In December, we'll be highlighting the featured cocktails from our Guest Bartender Event with Chef Johnny Maher, of The Rogue Gentlemen in Richmond. Johnny rocked the shakers for us and came up with three amazing drinks!

 Careful With The Siphon

Named after a story Greg Moore told our boys at Rogue where he paid dearly for trying to siphon full octane gin once upon a time...​

1½ oz corriander-infused Catoctin Creek Watershed Gin*
¾ oz Catoctin Peach Brandy
½ oz lemon
½ oz black pepper simple**
Muddled Ginger coin​ (one small diced and peeled fresh of ginger)​
Muddled apple coin​ (a pinch of small diced apple pieces, recommend juicy varietals like Honey Crisps)​

​Shaken, double strained into a coupe.

​*Coriander infused Gin: Simply add two tablespoons of dried coriander (crushed to open the seeds) to a 750 mL bottle of Watershed Gin and then ​allow to steep for 24 hours. Finely strain and return to bottle. Will keep well past the season so make as many as you anticipate on using.

​**Black Pepper Simple: 1½ cups water, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns - Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to bring mixture to a simmer; cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Strain the cooled syrup and refrigerate it in a container with a tightfitting lid.

Weekend at Barney's

​A clever play on words and the movie Weekend At Bernie's as well as a reference to our first still and its infamous purple hew. The drink itself is quite purple!

1½ oz Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye
½ oz maple syrup​ (buy a Grade A from the store for the cocktail and mix 2 parts maple to 1 part boiling water, allow to cool to room temperature, keeps for three months if not more)​
½ oz ​fresh ​lemon​ juice​
barspoon blackberry preserves​

Collins, build and add crushed ice, swizzle.

Loundon Clear

​You get it? Loud AND Clear? LOUDOUN COUNTY? YES!

1¼ oz Catoctin Creek 1757 Virginia Brandy
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz Apple-Rosemary Syrup

Shaken, strained into a flute, topped with bubbly.

* Apple-Rosemary Syrup: ​Bring 1 cup each equal parts of water and sugar together in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add ½ an apple sliced up and 3 sprigs of Rosemary and allow to boil for a few minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain and keep for up to three weeks, if not more.

Recipes courtesy Johnny Maher, The Rogue Gentlemen, and used with permission.

This one comes to us from our friends at Element Shrub:

Keep the big bad wolves away with this shrub and bitters twist on a Boulevardier, another one of our cocktail collaborations with @dcembitterment.

1½ oz Roundstone Rye whisky
1 oz Campari
½ oz Blueberry Rosemary Element Shrub
Several dashes of DC Embitterment orange bitters

Add all ingredients of a shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass. Top with bitters.

Recipe and photo courtesy Charlie Berkinshaw of Element Shrub, and used with permission.

It's November, and that means one thing: pie season! This month, our 80 proof Roundstone Rye is featured in three delicious pie themed cocktails.

Apple Pie Rye

In a crockpot, combine:

4 cups Apple cider
1 cup honey
2 oranges, studded with cloves
Cinnamon and allspice berries to taste

Cook on low until it begins to simmer, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold - fill mug or glass about ¾ full, add 1½ oz of Roundstone Rye. Garnish with caramel candy.

Pecan Pie Rye

Combine in rocks glass:

1 oz Roundstone Rye
5 oz Pecan syrup*
Pecan, for garnish

*pecan syrup: In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup of water, and ¼ cup of pecans. Stir on low heat for about 10 minutes, making sure the syrup is combined, and there is a fragrance of pecans. Let cool, then pour into a blender or food processor. Blend for about 30 seconds, then strain through a strainer or cheese cloth.

Pumpkin Pie Rye

Combine in shaker:

1½ oz Roundstone Rye
3 oz. spiced syrup*
1 tbs of pumpkin puree
1 tbs of condensed milk

Shake until all ingredients are combined, about 30 seconds. Pour over ice, and top with whipped cream.

*spiced syrup: In a crockpot, combine ½ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup of water, orange peel from 1 orange, 5-6 cloves, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1 tsp of nutmeg. Cook on low for 30-45 minutes, ensuring that the syrup is consistent and fragrant.

Recipes courtesy Jon Coate.

As Leanne Wiberg described it "The Drink That Made John Famous." Used as the Catoctin Creek Distillery table's house cocktail for the 2016 Virginia Craft Spirits Showcase held at the Berglund Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

1 oz Roundstone Rye Whisky
3 oz Apple Cider (make your own or pick your favorite brand)
½ oz Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
*1 tbsp Cranberry Maple Syrup
2 dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
2 dashes Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters
Top With - Ginger Beer of choice (2:1 ratio or two parts cocktail vs 1 part ginger beer)

Glass Type: Short Highball
Garnish: Fresh Apples, Cranberries, Lemons and Ginger Slices
Method: Build all ingredients except ginger beer in a cocktail shaker, shake and strain over ice then top with ginger beer or build all ingredients with larger recipe in a punch bowl or 3-Gallon Drink dispenser and serve with fresh fruits and ginger in punch.

*Cranberry Maple Syrup:

1½ cups frozen or fresh cranberries
1 cup water
¾ cup Grade A Maple Syrup of choice

Place 1½ cups (about 6 ounces) frozen or fresh cranberries, 1 cup water, and ¾ cup Grade A Maple Syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low rolling boil. Watch carefully so the syrup doesn't boil over! Reduce heat to low and simmer until cranberries are falling apart, about 15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl and let the strainer sit over the bowl until the syrup has cooled to room temperature, about 1 hour. Save and set aside the solids and refrigerate the syrup in a container with a tightfitting lid for up to 2 weeks.

Takes an hour and 20 minutes and makes about 1¼ cup.

To get the most out of your cranberries, pour the left over Cranberry solids in a glass jar, add one cup Maple Syrup or granulated sugar and add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest and ¾ cup Red Wine Vinegar, shake up really well until mixed thoroughly and save in jar for a few up to two weeks then fine strain into a glass seal tight container and enjoy a fantastic drinkable Cranberry Maple wine shrub for up to three months! Try over ice with club soda or mix into your favorite cocktail to further stretch your fall/winter drink fix for the rest of the season!

---

Punch Recipe Proportions

f you prefer, we have a punch-sized recipe:

2 750 ml bottles of Roundstone Whisky
1 gallon Apple Cider
1 liter freshly squeezed lemon juice
*1 quart Cranberry Maple Syrup
1 oz Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
1 oz Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters
½ gallon (4-5 12 fl oz cans/bottles) Ginger Beer of Choice
3 Apples Diced
2 Lemons cut into wheels
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup freshly shaved and diced ginger

Recipe courtesy of John Shope.