
Castle & Key Distillery is open Friday-Sunday from 12:00-5:00 pm
Each batch of our Restoration Rye Whiskey is blended using a series of pods. Each pod is created by grouping barrels to create a specific sensory profile.
Mashbill
17% Yellow Corn
63% Rye
20% Malted Barley
Batch 1
Aroma: Brown Sugar, Cinnamon Toast, Dried Figs, Pipe Tobacco, Baking Chocolate, Orange Peel
Taste: Sweet Baking Spice, Cinnamon Roll, Caramelized Sugar, Dried Currants, Lightly Roasted Almonds and a Hint of Black Licorice.
Finish: Sweet with light hints of maple syrup and dark honey
Size
60 Barrels
Proof
103 Alc/Vol - 51.5%
Batch 2
Aroma: Bright, Lemon Peel, Toasted Oak, Apricot, Wild Flower, Honey, Graham Cracker
Taste: Pie Crust, Honeysuckle, Mint, Agave Nectar, Dry Cinnamon, Light Stone Fruit
Finish: Cooling, Spearmint with light mouth numbing
Size
57 Barrels
Proof
99 Alc/Vol - 49.5%
Pod B
Aroma: Soft sweetness, light citrus peel, nutty stone fruit, generally bright
Taste: Decent balance, light sweetness on the front, slightly over assertive, light chocolate on back/finish black pepper
Overall: Repressed chocolate, mildly overaggressive black pepper, round body, good base
Pod G
Aroma: Soft, light sweetness, peanut brittle, light chocolate, pleasant mineral
Taste: Medium body, good balance, brown sugar, peanuts, light citrus peel, light → chocolate/malt light → spice box, medium finish
Overall: Strong component; good balance, rich palate, slightly light on the nose
Pod I
Aroma: Sweet cream, mineral, papaya, cinnamon, wood, floral, lemon peel
Taste: Medium browned butter, spearmint, toasty, raw cinnamon, light → medium body, slightly drying
Overall: Good nose and overall body, slightly drying on finish but decent balance
Pod K
Aroma: Mallow, chocolate, wintergreen/spearmint, dark fruit, light citrus peel (lemon)
Taste: Sweet brown sugar, building spice box, clove, nutmeg, dried chocolate, prune, light spearmint, rich mouthfeel, medium finish
Overall: Similar to Pod J; complex, rich body with plenty of dark fruit and chocolate, lemon zest, and cinnamon notes; build balance, overall great small group blend
Pod O
Aroma: Bright brown sugar, apricot pit, light spearmint, light spice, black pepper, and cinnamon
Taste: Medium sweetness, medium stone fruit, cranberry, pipe tobacco, medium rock, mineral char, medium baked cinnamon
Overall: Great big fruit on palate, good balance, interesting mineral note on back palate reminds me of older dusty whiskey bottlings, good medium finish
Pod Q
Aroma: Amazing nose, big chocolate, dried dark and stone fruit, medium cinnamon
Taste: Malted milk balls, dried fruits, light spearmint, cinnamon frosting, great overall balance, good mouthfeel
Overall: Unique and wonderful nose, tons of rich flavors all being distinct, yet still integrating extremely well
Pod R
Aroma: Soft, bright spearmint, floral, stone fruit, light clove
Taste: Chocolate malt, mineral, fresh hay, building cinnamon, peach, green apple skin, light floral, good balance, round
Overall: Great balance, easy classic rye profile, great grain flavors, light stone fruit, a good contributing component
Pod AA
Aroma: Light, incense woody, floral, medium sweetness, light citrus peel, stone fruit, black pepper, clove
Taste: Super approachable, medium sweetness, dough, clove, cinnamon building, light citrus peel (orange), dried orange, and almond
Overall: Well balanced, slightly dry on the finish; good overall balance, medium spice structure, good base component
Pod HH
Aroma: Papaya, pie crust, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, light leather
Taste: Medium sweetness, raw cinnamon, nutmeg, medium mineral, malted milk balls, light papaya, lemon peel, honey, apricot
Overall: More extreme version of GG.1; good balance and mouthfeel, nice mineral, chocolate, smokey tone; has a grilled tropical fruit note
Pod II
Aroma: Light sweetness, peach cobbler, baked cinnamon, light rock mineral, dry cacao
Taste: Great front sweetness, round brown sugar, building cinnamon, and black pepper; back palate chocolate, light dried fruit
Overall: Good mouthfeel medium sweetness great nose good palate slight chocolate lesser version of Pod HH and Pod GG but could compound them in blend
Pod LL
Aroma: Apricot, butter cream, green apple, citrus peel, clove
Taste: Juicy, good stone fruit, medium butterscotch, transitions to cinnamon stick, slight creamy note, maple syrup
Overall: Average, decent fruit and balance, slight off note on finish, but will likely blend out
Pod MM
Aroma: Green apple, light spice box, light caramel, baked cinnamon, slight floral
Taste: Sweet cinnamon bun, light orange peel, brown sugar, black pepper, apricot pit/tropical fruits
Overall: Average, good mouthfeel and balance, limited depth and complexity, hopefully the fruit notes expand/stack with blending
Pod C
Aroma: Pie crust, light dried chocolate papaya, light cinnamon, orange peel
Taste: Rich mouthfeel, orris root, medium sweetness, flamed brown sugar, baked cinnamon, orange peel, balanced medium finish
Overall: Great, wonderful balance, strong depth, complex diverse flavors, nice chocolate, baked cinnamon, and floral combination; round/rich
Pod D
Aroma: Sweet cream, woody floral, papaya, baked cinnamon, pine, light citrus
Taste: Light sweetness, medium alcohol, grain, bright cinnamon, slight juniper, light citrus peel, burnt sugar, heat on back end, light dark fruit (fig)
Overall: Improvement over Pod D; watch for heat/intensity, dark fruit, burnt sugar, slightly unique will bolster depth on lighter components
Pod E
Aroma: Light nose, slight sweetness, lemon peel, slight baking spice
Taste: Nutty brown sugar, wood, floral, light mineral, baked cinnamon frosting, great overall balance
Overall: Great Structure and balance, wonderful spice box, good mouthfeel, strong overall foundation; good base direction for total blend
Pod J
Aroma: Sweet grain, light citrus, slight raw wood, fig newton
Taste: Cinnamon, toast, fig newton, slight butter cream, medium spice box, light citrus, great mouthfeel and finish, nice chocolate on back
Overall: Great, good balance, the fig newton/ dried dark fruit note is nice with good spice integration will be usual to boost dark fruit and chocolate
Pod U
Aroma: Brown sugar, lemon peel, light peach pit, baked cinnamon, pleasant
Taste: Medium front sweetness, brown sugar, light citrus, medium warming cinnamon, light pie crust; great overall balance, light chalk mineral, dark fruit
Overall: Strong overall base; great nose, good palate, decent complexity; will work well with other balanced components
Pod V
Aroma: Woodsy, floral, papaya and tropical fruit, baked cinnamon, brown sugar
Taste: Nice sweetness, brown sugar, black pepper, baked cinnamon, light tropical fruit, medium spice box, browned butter
Overall: Interesting nose, decent amount of tropical fruit, rich palate, good overall structure, rich spice structure
Pod CC
Aroma: Limited brown sugar, light orange peel, mineral light clove
Taste: Peanut, brown sugar, cloves, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, light tropical fruit, light wood tannin, medium body and finish, spearmint
Overall: Light nose, great palate, rich, good balance, nice spice box, light alcohol, good complexity, strong contributor
Pod EE
Aroma: Jammy, dried fruits, brown sugar, woody, floral, papaya, great nose
Taste: Brown sugar, building chocolate, spearmint, baked cinnamon, orange peel, good mouthfeel, medium finish
Overall: Great balance, nice, sweet camphor, spice combination less assertive than Pod DD
Pod FF
Aroma: Burnt sugars, brown sugar, candied orange peel, robust nose
Taste: Big brown sugar, baked cinnamon, dried figs, clove, spiked orange, good body, medium finish, slight spearmint, light chocolate, jammy mouthfeel
Overall: Takes awhile to open, blanched palate, nice, rich overall, good sweetness, and light chocolate; positive character contributor
Pod GG
Aroma: Juicy, dried stone fruit, light green apple, cinnamon, oatmeal, light lemon peel
Taste: Apricot preserves, cream, burnt brown sugar, sweet potato pie, light lemon peel, baked cinnamon, light chocolate, mineral
Overall: Great balance, super jammy, nice sweetness and body, good amount of stone fruit, light chocolate, wonderful profile, strong flavor diversity
Pod OO
Aroma: Flat, cream, light brown sugar, light, young raw wood, cinnamon building, bright fruit
Taste: Nice, cacao powder, floral, tulip bulb, peach pie, building allspice, and mineral
Overall: Average nose, needs a push to open up, but great palate with lots of cacao and stone fruit, nicely balanced with a warming allspice note on the finish
Pod PP
Aroma: Mallow, wood, floral, butter, dry brown sugar, biscuits (the cookies that come in the tin that your grandmother keeps her sewing supplies in)
Taste: Buttercream, brown sugar, earthy, cinnamon, medium spice box, light mineral, and dark fruit on the finish
Overall: A little funky with the cream and plain cookie combination, slightly young tannis, but pleasant dark fruit; overall interesting and could be a unique contributor, just not a foundational component