December 2010 Update
Give him strong drink until he wink,
That is sinking in despair;
And liquor good to fire his blood,
That is pressed with grief and care:
There let him drink deeply, and deep carouse,
With bumpers flowing over,
Till he forgets his loves or debts,
And minds his griefs no more.
— Solomon's Proverbs, xxxi. 6, 7
(as transcribed by Robert Burns)
News for November
As December brings its chill winds, we now see the closure of 2010 approaching. What an incredible year it has been for us. This year was our first full year in production, and now, as we look forward to the holidays, we smile and think back gratefully on the start of our business and how fortunate we were.
Yes, November has come and gone, and, good heavens, what a busy month it was! We received so much good news last month that it seems unbelievable! We are so lucky and blessed to be enjoying this great new career we've made for ourselves. Becky and I are so thankful for each and every one of you out there who enjoy our products. This holiday season, we raise a glass to you!
Cheers!
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In a single overwhelming week last month, we received three very big pieces of news. The first was winning two silver medals at the New York International Spirits Competition! Up against some 150 spirits from around the world, we came away with silvers for both of our whiskies (Roundstone Rye and Mosby's Spirit). We now have a growing list of awards and accolades that we can proudly publish on our web site. Secondly, we received a great review from the Jewish Single Malt Whisky Society, and finally, we found ourselves as a winner in Garden and Gun magazine's "Made in the South" awards. Any one of these would have been a great boost to the week, but all three in one week? Whew! Thank you, all!
Also in November, MyJoogTV released their video episode about Catoctin Creek with musician Andrew McKnight performing one of his songs. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. It has some neat history about establishing the distillery and some enjoyable music from Andrew McKnight–a real friend of the distillery.
Great Gift Idea for the Holidays
As we turn our minds to the holidays, and gifts for Christmas and Hanukkah, don't forget those hard-to-buy-for folks on your list. Every year, it seems I never know what to buy my father for Christmas. If you are like me, why not buy a bottle of Roundstone Rye, Mosby's Spirit or Pearousia? There are still about 100 bottles of Pearousia left, so order yours today!
(Did you know it is perfectly OK to mail liquor in the US mail, UPS, or Fed-Ex? Although our distillery cannot ship directly to consumers, person-to-person shipments have always been legal.)
Check out our web site for details on where to buy our products locally. The list grows more and more every month.
Shipping Nationwide
And did you know you can now buy Catoctin Creek products nationwide? YES! Just call the good folks at Schneider's of Capitol Hill and ask for Catoctin Creek. We're new at the store, so we're not appearing in their online store yet, but just call them at 1-800-377-1461, and Schneider's can take care of packing and shipping for any destination you choose.
Events Calendar
Keep an eye out for these cool events in December and January:
- Dec. 2 - Charity Dinner at Patowmack Farm Restaurant
- Dec. 4 - Bottling Workshop (Now full)
- Jan. 15 - Distilling Workshop - Learn how to make whisky! Hands on workshop!
As always, there are 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. Tours are always free, so stop by and see us sometime!
Remember, "Think Global, Drink LOCAL!"SM
Cheers!
Scott & Becky
Catoctin Creek® Distilling Company will conduct a BOTTLING DAY on Saturday, November 13. Volunteers wanted. Find out more 
Ever wish you could own your own cask of whisky? The Catoctin Creek® Cask Purchase Program may be for you. For an investment of $5000 (taxes and shipping extra), you can own a whole cask (estimated at 150 bottles at cask strength) of a truly unique single-cask expression of Catoctin Creek eco-ganic rye whisky. Here is an opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind treasure which you can even get the chance to help distill yourself at our distillery. Now, where else are you going to get that kind of opportunity? 
If you haven't already heard... Pearousia Limited Edition Pear Brandy is now available in Virginia ABC stores. You must special order it using code 952556 at your local store. Just tell the clerk your name and phone number, how many bottles you want, and give them that code and they should call you when it arrives. $42 per hand-numbered 375 ml bottle. Just in time for Christmas and Hanukkah! These will sell out quickly, so get yours ordered today! Pearousia will also be available through select stores in Maryland and the District of Columbia, through Bacchus Importers, LTD.
As August drew to a close, we wrapped up our rye production season. In September, we focus our attention on all the grapes that have begun to arrive, and we begin distilling brandy.
August was so busy. In August, we saw our distribution expand into Northern California (along with present day Maryland, DC and Virginia). Apparently, a lot of people are interested in fine eco-ganic spirits! Our PR engine was in full swing, as we poured spirits for the Mike O'Meara show and cruised down the Hudson on the Whisky Cruise.
We are constantly asked, "Where can we buy your spirits?" Well, the list of stores, restaurants and pubs is growing day by day. The best way to stay up to date is to check our web site at 
With temperatures peaking above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, we're really struggling to keep cool as we continue to work at making whisky and gin. Mind you, this job generates lots of heat, and we have no air conditioning in the distillery (except for the fermentation room), so ours is truly a labor of love. And our desire to get you guys more spirits as soon as we can!
We are now shipping our spirits into Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and we're just starting to see some awesome restaurants carrying our products. Around home, we have the wonderful Magnolias at the Mill in Purcellville, the Greene Turtle and Tuscarora Mill in Leesburg, just to name a few. And let's not forget Patowmack Farm in Lovettsville, where we are doing cocktails paired with dinner on August 6. Further afield, the first restaurant in the District to carry our spirits is the well renowned Passenger on 7th Street NW. Look for more and more as we ramp up on our distribution, and don't be shy to ask your retailer or server, "Can you get me some Catoctin Creek?"
In April, we were in bottling mode. Bottling was fun. We had a great team of volunteers who came in, and we rocked in one day what had been planned for two! It was a truly historic event, as we signed and shipped the very first bottles ever from our distillery. Plus, it was nice to meet up with some of our Facebook fans. We bottled over 90 cases of our first spirits for delivery to Virginia ABC in Richmond. As Scott was driving down I-95 with a pallet of spirits in his truck, it dawned on him he was fulfilling his lifelong dream to run liquor down I-95! Mind you, he was doing so driving 35 miles per hour with his hazard lights flashing! Must protect those spirits!
With the spirits delivered to Richmond, we now wait for the Virginia distribution machine to kick in so that the spirits are delivered to all of the stores we designated. Literally any day now, you should see Roundstone Rye on the shelves of your local ABC store. If you don't see it, ask for it! (Product # 27030). If you are a restaurant wishing to order all three spirits (including the Watershed Gin and Mosby's Spirit as well), you can use the ABC special order to ask for a mixed case (two of each spirit). You can find more information on buying our spirits 
In March, we started making our Watershed Gin. The process is simple: We start with twice distilled rye spirits as a base, and then we macerate a pillow-case sized bag of juniper and other herbs and spices, letting it steep in the spirit for 24 hours or more. Then, the gin is run back through the still one more time, to become a very smooth and totally delicious thrice-distilled Watershed Gin.
Becky and I enjoyed hosting our first Artisan Distilling Workshop. We had about twenty folks show up and spend their Saturday with us, learning about mashing, fermentation, distilling, and bottling. We ran a batch of rye whisky through the still, and even got to check out the pear wine and gin base in their pre-distilled forms. Becky and I had a lot of fun, and hope that everybody enjoyed the seminar as much as we enjoyed hosting it. For those of you interested, you can check out our summer workshop on July 24--you can 
Early this month, we 
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!
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.
Right after Christmas, our container ship, the Liverpool Express, landed in Norfolk with our container of equipment from Germany. After a few days and a lot of phone calls, we got the container cleared through customs, and it arrived on our doorstep in early January! We're just finishing up hooking it all up and getting it ready for production runs.
Almost at the same time, we received our Federal DSP (Distilled Spirits Plant) permit! This is huge because it means we are now legal! Yes, we are now federally approved distillers! We immediately turned around and filed our applications for label approval for our first line-up of products. Stay tuned for more information about that!
More and more equipment arrives each week. Our Durfo Enolmaster bottling machine arrived in the United States, but we are still working to free her out of customs in Atlanta. And our Kothe K-900 still is expected to arrive from Eislingen, Germany, in December along with all of our fermentation, storage and filtering equipment.
