DISTILLERY PROFILE
Catoctin Creek
Frequent readers of Unfiltered will have noticed that SMWS ambassador Lee ‘Connas’ Connor has been zooming all over the United States of late to delve into some new distillery bottlings coming your way from that side of the pond. His journey continues this month with a look at Virginia’s Catoctin Creek distillery, as he chats to founders Rebecca and Scott Harris about their distilling adventure and the importance of whiskey to the state
DISTILLERY PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CATOCTIN CREEK, BUTCHER PHOTOGRAPHY, FIREFLY IMAGEWORKS, RACHEL BRADLEY AND DAVID BUCHANAN
The Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia have been famously immortalised in verse by the likes of Laurel and Hardy (and John Denver, no less). While the state has provided inspiration for musicians and lyricists alike, what is less well known about ‘The Old Dominion’ is the pivotal role it has played in the history of American whiskey making.
“In the 1600s and 1700s, the predominant drink in what we now refer to as the United States was rye whiskey,” Catoctin Creek founder Scott Harris tells me, speaking with pride and authority on the importance of distilling in Virginia. “Rye is a sister crop to tobacco, we’re quite famous for that here, so when the first colonists landed in 1607, it makes sense that they would eventually start distilling with it.
“Eventually every farm in the state would have been making whiskey, way before bourbon was conceived. To put that into context, in 1790 there were 3,000 farms in Virginia. Today in the entire United States there are 3,000 distilleries.”
Right through the 1800s, rye remained the dram of choice in the populated areas on the East Coast, before prohibition obliterated home-based production. Land where distilleries stood was sold, and the introduction of Scotch and Canadian rye would all but supplant American rye.
“As the first legal distillery in Loudoun County since prohibition, our whole passion here is for reintroducing everyone to America’s native spirit – rye whiskey,” says Scott.
ABOVE: Rebecca Harris co-founded Catoctin Creek distillery in Virginia, the first legal distillery in Loudoun County since prohibition
ABOVE: Rebecca and Scott Harris share a passion for reintroducing people to what they see as America’s native spirit – rye whisky
TIME AND PLACE
Clearly Rebecca and Scott have drawn great inspiration from the historical significance of rye whiskey in the United States, but it would be remiss to ignore the impact of their locality on what they’re doing.
“Catoctin is a Native American name from the Virginian Algonquian tribe. It’s said to mean ‘the land of many deer’,” says Scott. “We sit at the foot of the Appalachian mountains – the space that John Denver wrote about is just five miles over the hill.
“We get all our grain from people we consider to be local producers; they provide us with the flavour divergence we’re looking for. For example, our farmer in Rappahannock grows different varietals for us, which gives us the foundation for unique flavour profiles to create whiskey we’re very proud of.”
A HANDS-ON PROCESS
In terms of production, Rebecca gives us an insight into how they create Catoctin Creek whiskey. “We use 100 per cent unmalted rye grain and a sweet mash – we don’t use backset [a traditional process used to sour the mash],” she says. “We have a long seven-day fermentation which brings us an absolute dryness. We have a 560-gallon hybrid still, with a seven-to-nine-hour distillation cycle.
“When I’m distilling, what I like to do is regulate the temperature as the still is running so that I pull off a lot at the beginning but slow it down towards the end. That pulls a lot more flavours, oils and textures through when the run is at lower alcoholic strength. We’ve been doing it like that because we think it tastes better.”
Although Rebecca’s background is as a chemical engineer, she clearly advocates the philosophy of the distilling process being a hands-on process, where the operators communicate and adapt according to what happens during production.
“You have a relationship with your still, it’s like a living creature, it has moods. Sometimes it can be difficult, but you get a feel for how it runs and how to control it. I instil this into our team when we’re training them, you just have to feel it!”
ABOVE: Rebecca says Catoctin Creek whiskey is produced using 100 per cent unmalted rye grain and a sweet mash
ABOVE: Rebecca advocates a philosophy of distilling as a hands-on process, where operators can communicate and adapt during production
FLAVOUR DELIVERY
This relationship and human involvement with the whiskey endures right the way through to cask selection, as Rebecca explains.
“Obviously we want a degree of uniformity with our end product, but some casks can turn out sweeter than others, or spicier and so on,” she says. “When I put a batch together what I’m looking for is absolute consistency of flavour. For instance, I like our 80 per cent proof [40% abv] to be easy drinking and not too overpowering. Whereas our Distiller’s Edition [46% abv] is a little bit spicier. For me it’s about flavour delivery – even our cask proof whiskey is very much about flavour before the heat from alcohol.”
Scott agrees: “I must say, Catoctin presents very well at cask proof, our lighter side of rye fits well with no dilution in my opinion.”
SHARED PASSIONS
The personal touch and enthusiasm for flavour employed at Catoctin are just two reason that led to a collaboration with us here at the SMWS. Many more can be inferred from Rebecca’s opinion on why she has chosen to work in the whiskey industry.
“I think meeting people where they are and introducing them to a sense of exploration is something that we’ve always been passionate about,” she says. “Especially because back when we started 15 years ago there weren’t many women leading tastings, or taking lead ambassador roles in the same way we have now. Women are now engaging and sharing what they like and don’t like about whiskies, and actively looking for alternatives.
“All it’s really about is finding what appeals to you and thinking about why. There’s a thought process beyond ‘I like it’ or ‘I don’t like it’ that can lead you down a huge path of discovery.”