Castle & Key Restoration Rye Review

About – “Whiskey takes time. We started this journey in 2014, barreling our first product in 2016. In 2020, we feel it’s ready to share. 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.” If you go on to the Castle and Key website you will find detailed notes for the for the pods used in each batch. Today I am reviewing batch 1 which is comprised of whiskey from 12 different pods. Restoration Rye is the first whiskey to be released under the name Castle & Key since the rebirth of distillery. If you are interested in the history of this famous distillery you can find much more information on their website. This rye is aged for 3 years, bottled at 103 proof and carries a retail price of around $41.99.

Nose – The nose starts of very sweet with freshly sliced green apples. The typical rye spearmint is hanging out behind that, but is fairly light. There is some spice on the nose in the form of black pepper that leaves a small sting in the nostrils. Lastly there is a subtle vanilla behind everything and a faint note of freshly milled grain.

Palate – Bright and sweet. Like the nose apple is the first note that I pick up with grain coming behind that. After that things start to go a bit green. Again like the nose spearmint is subtly present on the mid palate. The spice that was black pepper on the nose is now green peppercorn and the backend has a vegetal note before more green that leads to a finish that is on the short side of medium.

Score – C

Verdict – The flavor profile here is promising it just needs more time to develop. I will say that I think Castle & Key is heading in the right direction with their distillate and we will see good whiskey being released from them fairly soon. I will also say that the packaging on this release is top notch. The bottle is gorgeous, the bottle topper is very ornate, and the neck band and metal plate near the bottom with the release year are nice touches as well.