Category Archives: Kosher spirits

Catoctin Creek, Kosher spirits, Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy, Whiskies

Catoctin Creek – Mosby’s Spirit & Roundstone Rye – organic & kosher (not for Passover)!

What’s that?  Oh, you haven’t heard of Catoctin Creek?  Wait, are you serious??

Actually, I believe it.  And I wouldn’t expect many to have heard about these folks.  Well, things are going to change, my friends!  Catoctin Creek is surely the new kid on the block (please, no Donnie Wahlberg jokes, people).  They started in 2009 and are the first distillery to open in their county since Prohibition.  The brain child of Scott & Becky Harris, I think these folks have something quite good on their hands.  And this something is only going to grow!

For my tree-huggers out there, all of Catoctin Creek’s products are certified organic.  And for my Jews in the audience, their products are kosher certified (Star K).  Oh, and for my booze lovers on the other side of the computer or smartphone screen, their whiskies are really good and… award winning!

Sadly, as it stands now, Catoctin Creek spirits are currently only available in California, Virginia, Maryland & Washington DC.  In speaking with Scott Harris, however, he told me that they are currently working on wider distribution.

Update – Schneider’s of Capitol Hill will ship Catoctin Creek nationwide (USA).

Rather than put it all on the post here, to learn more about Catoctin Creek, click here.

Now, let me learn you on these whiskies.  First, I’ll review their “Mosby’s Spirit” which is unmatured rye spirit, straight off the still then diluted to 40% ABV.  The second is their “Roundstone Rye” which is their “Mosby’s Spirit” aged in new oak barrels for an unspecified amount of time.  Both are 100% rye with no other grain influence.

Mosby’s Spirit – Virginia, USA – Awarded a bronze medal by the American Distilling Institute – 40%ABV – 750ml – $39

On the nose — No doubt about – if the label on the bottle didn’t tell me, or the crystal clear color of this rye didn’t clue me in, this is white dog, new make spirit, what ever you want to call it – it’s straight off the still rye!

Slight citrus notes.  If I didn’t know better, I might confuse the scent of this for a silver tequila.

Hints of gooseberries.

Very sweet nose.  Very clean as well.

Rye bread (duh!).

On the mouth — Thinnish mouth feel.

I enjoy the flavor much more than the nose.  Very drinkable.

A slight saltiness to this.

Here’s a strange note for you: fresh cement.

Light & clean white wine.

Some unripened peach tones in there.

Tinned oranges.  Actually a tin of many fruits (including that one single solitary cherry they throw in for you).

Finish — Medium in length with some of the rye from the nose and an interesting cranberry flavor that popped up.

In sum — I went into reviewing this whisky with the thought that it’s nothing more than a rye for mixing purposes.  Nosing the stuff and I still felt this way.  Tasting it changed my mind.  I would be happy to sip on this stuff, especially in the summertime but I’d equally be happy to make a nice Manhattan with it.  Think I’ll pour a wee bit more…  Nah, have to review the Roundstone Rye now…

Roundstone Rye – Virginia, USA – 40%ABV – 750ml – $39

On the nose — It’s interesting what one year in an oak cask will do.

Upfront with the vanilla and a few hits of coconut.

Wet oak.

Rounded out with soft caramel apple

Peachy peach.

On the mouth — Big and rich in flavor and a nice mouth feel.


Cinnamon sticks.



Grilled apple slices.


Still a good deal of new make-i-ness in there but, I’m a fan of young spirit so no complaints here and after only a small amount of time in a cask, I would not expect anything else.



Unripened peach (just like with the white dog).

Finish — Medium in length with some great notes of caramel and rye.

In sum — A very approachable rye, especially for those just getting into them.  It might benefit from a slightly higher ABV (maybe 46%) but still, a solid whisky (and yes, Catoctin Creek spells it “whisky” without the “E”.


Many thanks to Scott Harris for the generous samples!

Kosher Spirits (not for Passover), Loch Chaim, Macallan, Refreshed, Springtime, Whiskies

Loch Chaim Macallan 18yr Single Cask

Speyside region – 43%ABV – $96 – $127

As you may or may not know, I am part of a whisky blogging group called The Whisky Round Table.  We’re a group of 12 whisky bloggers who bring up a new topic every month to discuss.  Each month one of us fearless knights (of the Whisky Round Table) comes up with a question and we all have to answer it on that questioner’s blog.  You can follow our twitter feed here: @whiskyknights

Why do bring this up?  Well, Ruben of Whiskynotes.be recently brought up a great question about Independent bottlers (you can find it here as well as our answers to his question) and Loch Chaim, as I am finding, is one of these great indy bottlers we all discuss.

This next expression is a great example of a well chosen cask by an indy and another reason why independent bottlers should not and can not be ignored.

Color – This is an 18 year old whisky?

I don’t normally rate color but this so light, like a Sauvignon Blanc.

Obviously, there’s no sherry influence here but even with a bourbon cask I would have expected more color.

On the nose – Again, this is an 18 year old whisky?

Very aggressive nose filled with a boat load of spice and vanilla.

Some toasted coconut notes.

Lemon essence water.

Grassy.

Chamomile tea.

On the mouth – Nice entry; slight viscosity.

More chamomile tea with an extra teaspoon of sugar.

Perhaps some green apple and star fruit.

Finish – Tea and coffee.  A bit fizzy.

In sum – Do not go into this thinking you’re going to experience your typical (read: sherried) Macallan.  This is as near the antithesis of a standard bottle of Macallan you can find.  However, this is not a bad thing.  Oh, I found this whisky to be very light and refreshing!  I could wake up with this stuff, it’s most invigorating.  Very much a springtime whisky.

A World of Discovery, Autumn, Kosher Spirits (not for Passover), Linkwood, Loch Chaim, Whiskies

Loch Chaim Linkwood 17yr Single Cask

Speyside region – 46%ABV – $73 – $92

Here we go again, delving a bit further into the not so wide world of kosher certified Scotch whiskies.

“What would make a whisky not kosher?” you ask.  To make a long story short, whisky matured in a non-kosher wine or sherry cask, to some Jews, renders said whisky non-kosher.  To some Jews, myself included, this is not a relevant statement.

To make a short story long, read this well written piece by Alan L that I’ve been meaning to post for some time now…part 1 and part 2.

You know, I don’t think I’ve met a Linkwood I didn’t like.  So, what about one with no sherry influence?  Let’s see…

On the nose – Oak and oats.

A bit of a vanilla bomb here.

Fizzy white wine.

Sweet and low.

For 43% ABV, this is a bit stingy in the nose!

Dollar store, no-named powdered sugar candies…

Like Smartees with less of a fruity influence, more sugar than anything.

On the mouth – Here we go.

Great mouth feel, coating my tongue with Hostess apple pie goo.

Honey and breakfast cereals (muesli).

Toasty almonds (slight, more of a bitting marzipan note here actually).

Flaky sugar coating (again, from that Hostess pie)

Finish – Short to medium yet nice and warming.

In sum – Yup, it’s true, I haven’t met a Linkwood I haven’t liked and this one is no exception.  A nice whisky for Jew and Gentile alike.  Perfect for a chilly night in lieu of a sherried whisky.

Autumn, Glenrothes, Kosher Spirits (not for Passover), Springtime, Summertime, Takin' It Easy

Glenrothes – Alba Reserve

Speyside region – 43% ABV – $50 | £40 | €48

Kosher whiskies day two.

Another year, another whisky.  I’ve been hearing about the Glenrothes Alba Reserve for some time now.  Actually, I had it last year at WhiskyFest NYC.  However, it was one of the last whiskies of the evening and I have to say that after 25+ different whiskies it’s tough to tell what’s good and what’s not.  Heck, it can be tough to remember what whiskies you had!

Somehow, I’m guessing because I’m a Jew, I’ve had at least 20 people ask me if I’ve had the the Glenrothes Alba Reserve.  It is a kosher certified whisky (by the London Bet Din), matured in refill bourbon casks.  It is also a Double Gold winner at the recent 2010 San Francisco World Spirit Competition.

Kosher & award winning?  I guess I just had to try it.

I sort of like the Glenrothes packaging.  The bottle is often refereed to as being shaped like a hand-grenade.  There’s an odd sexiness to their bottles.

The Alba Reserve carries no age statement.

Let’s see how the fluid is:

On the nose – Initial whiff is that of plum brandy – slivovitz.

Damp wood, old wood.

Vanilla and saw dust (smoldering, smokey).

We’re not going to blow your mind here, just make you want to sip a wee bit.

On the mouth – Cadbury Fruit and nut bar minus the chocolate.

Slight citrus notes.

Watered down honey.

At 40%ABV, this is an easy drinker (upside).

However, it’s not the most challenging whisky (upside and downside).

Some toasted coconut.

Finish – Medium in length with clear vanilla and honey notes.

In sum – An easy everyday drinker.  Nothing super special about it but, that’s not a bad thing.  This may be a great whisky to give to the casual whisky drinker or as a good gateway whisky.

Arran, Kosher Spirits (not for Passover), Let's celebrate!, Loch Chaim, Springtime, Summertime, Whiskies

Loch Chaim Arran, Single Cask, 13yr old – the Bar/Bat Mitzvah dram

Islands region – 43%ABV – $84

Being that the Jewish New Year began last night (L’Shanah Tovah to all of my Jewish readers — health and happiness to all of my readers), I figured I’d begin a new limited series focusing on kosher certified whiskies.

Loch Chaim whiskies are Single Malt, Single Cask whiskies (not cask strength, all taken down to 43% ABV) specifically bottled for kosher keeping Jews (but happen to be completely delicious for anyone who loves good whisky).

Being single cask, you can imagine that the availability of these whiskies is limited.  You can find this line throughout New York, New Jersey and in pockets of Washington DC & Los Angeles.  You know, the Little Israels of the US. 🙂

All of these single cask expressions are matured in ex-bourbon (or, at least non-wine influenced) barrels.

I’ve got five different Loch Chaim whiskies and I thought it’d be good to start with the 13 year old Isle of Arran:

On the nose – Big bourbon fresh nose!

Salted green tomatoes.

Browning lemons (perhaps the largest component here) and pear notes.

Rhubarb preserves.

Light and inviting.

Not the most complex nose but…nice.

Something slightly earthy about this nose too…

On the mouth – Very peppery.

Barbecue sauce and sweet ketchup (where in the blue F did this come from!?).

Fruit jams comprised of slightly more bitter fruits.

Cinnamon, nutmeg and a bit of cardamom.

Finish – The pepperiness continues.

There’s a decent length here.

In sum – So while I was trying to figure this one out (what with the strangeness from the bourbon light fresh nose to the family barbecue pallet), I realized what’s happening here.  This is, after all, a 13yr old whisky AND a kosher whisky.

What happens to Jewish boys & girls at age 13??  You guessed it, the become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  This whisky became an adult!  It became a Bar Mitzvah in my mouth.  Hmmm, that doesn’t sound right…