CASTLE & KEY 'RESTORATION' RYE, Kentucky

Castle & Key distillery is a tale of two dreams separated by over a hundred years coming true. In 1887, Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr. had a dream for a new kind of distillery and the future of whiskey in the United States. He built a one-of-a-kind distillery in Millville, Kentucky inspired by European architecture that featured a Castle, a classical Springhouse and a Sunken Garden. It became the birthplace of bourbon hospitality and tourism. Prohibition saw the distillery close in 1920 and eventually fall into ruins. Fast forward to 2014 and through the efforts of Will Arvin and others, the Old Taylor Distillery was restored. The name Castle & Key was deemed fitting as it highlighted both the historic distillery in the Castle and the importance of the grounds and watersource, the keyhole-shaped Springhouse.

Their Small Batch Bourbon is released by year and batch number as indicated on the front & back labels. On our shelf we currently have the 2023 Batch 4 bottling. The mashbill is 17% Yellow Corn, 20% Malted Barley & 63% Rye. Aged 3 years. Aromatics include Demerara sugar, baked apricot, ginger, dried cherry, honeysuckle, allspice, cinnamon & pumpernickel. Flavors include rye grass, baked apricot, fig, cane syrup, candied orange, fresh rose, baking chocolate, cinnamon & clove. The round mouthfeel is warming and leads to a lingering candied orange finish. Batch size 120 barrels. 106.5 Proof.