Welcome back to another whiskey-tasting! Today, we are opening a bottle from a distillery that is fairly new to the whiskey scene: Castle & Key Restoration Rye by Castle & Key Distillery. Castle & Key has revived an iconic distillery. From their website, “Castle & Key began restoring the historic Old Taylor Distillery in 2014 and, after four years of hard work, was overjoyed to open the distillery.” The distillery, originally constructed in 1887, has seen a renaissance since its revival in 2014. Located in the heart of Kentucky, this historic site has been restored to its former glory.
As stated in the title, this is the single barrel version of Castle & Key Restoration Rye and is not the easiest bottle to find. It sells for $65. This bottle is 115 proof, comes in the same shape and size as all the Castle & Key spirits, and is composed of 63% rye, 20% malted barley, and 17% yellow corn. The age is three and a half years.
Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the tasting notes and overall impressions of this single barrel rye. While we are fans of Castle & Key gins, we did a review on their wheated Bourbon a few months ago and found it to be just okay, not bad, but not necessarily good. Here’s to hoping that Castle & Key Restoration Rye Single Barrel delivers a more memorable experience. Cheers to another great-tasting adventure!
NOSE
Frank: A strong alcohol scent but with some sweet and pleasant aromas, including butterscotch, rye, and some nuttiness. Picking up a bit of black pepper as well. Ice didn’t change much.
Matt: Hot nose when first poured, needs to sit a few and then was much better. Rye is the primary aroma with caramel, brown sugar, cinnamon, leather, and cherry all making their presence known. Ice brings out more caramel and a bit of plum.
Todd: A little hot, but a lot going on. Get strong rye and caramel upfront, with honey, cinnamon, pepper, bread, and brown sugar coming in as secondary scents. Ice brought out more sweetness.
TASTE
Frank: Good heat with a lot of caramel and butterscotch. It has almost a butter type taste. Also get some rye and a little cinnamon. Ice helps cut the heat, allowing an oily caramel flavor to come out.
Matt: Very hot neat, still good, but makes it harder to pick stuff out. Rye is still the main player here, with some caramel, brown sugar, nuttiness, leather, and pepper being the secondary tastes. Ice makes this a better drink and brings out cherries, cinnamon, and more caramel.
Todd: Drinking neat was a pretty hot experience. I really only got some rye, caramel, and pepper. Ice made this a very enjoyable drink, adding fruit notes as well as grain and baking spices.
FINISH
Frank: Long, hot, and with more caramel.
Matt: Medium long and spicy.
Todd: Medium long with rye and a good burn.
OVERALL
Frank: I like it, but needs time to breathe, and I highly recommend drinking it on the rocks.
Matt: Tasty, but needs ice or you can use water if you don’t want to add a chill factor.
Todd: This is a real good on the rocks drink.
Nose 4 out of 5
Taste 8.75 out of 10
Finish 3.75 out of 5
Total score 16.5 out of 20 barrels.
All in all, a good rye, and at this high of an alcohol level, you really need to add some water, making it somewhat of a value buy as well, even though it is $65, which isn’t cheap. We all definitely liked it better than their wheated expression and about the same as the gin we have tried.
Final verdict, we would recommend getting a bottle of Castle & Key Restoration Rye Single Barrel. It is not real well known, not too expensive, comes in a cool looking bottle, and is a very tasty drink, with a little water.