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Posts Tagged ‘Catoctin Creek Distillery’

Catoctin Creek Dinner Gets It Right

December 14th, 2013 • No Comments

A Dinner to Remember..

Leaving Georgetown on a Friday night I was stuck on M Street for 40 minutes to cover about 7 blocks. The Weekend traffic made what should have been around an hour and 15 minute trip more than 2 hours, but the resulting dinner was truly worth it!

I (although I say “we” quite a bit – once you’re at a Whisky Dinner, you become a we!) attended a Cocktail Dinner at the Catoctin Creek Distillery, featuring the Wandering Chef – an entertaining and delicious affair and my first time visiting the new Catoctin Creek Distillery in the heart of Purcellville.

We enjoyed a private tour of the new space from owners, Scott and Becky Harris. Becky guided us through the process of making whisky, and Scott described for us the wonderful history of their “new” building, which is nearly 100 years old.

Dinner was a five course affair prepared by Chefs Wes Rosati and Maria Aros of The Wandering Chef. Chefs Rosati and Aros are formerly of Lansdowne Resort, and have combined talents to provide exquisite dining for our new venue!

Oh, and did I say cocktails? Yes, Katie Morrison was on hand to expertly craft cocktails paired with our dinner! As always, I forgot to get the cocktail recipes (shame!!), but the “Catoctinog” was a great starter for me – essentially a Whiskey egg nog, but more creamy nog than egg – cream and whiskey are made to be together!

Here is the Menu (all sourced from local producers and use of seasonal ingredients):

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1st Course
Baby Winter Greens, Spiced Walnuts, Cranberry Vinaigrette
Crispy Pork Belly and Poached Pear Salad
Paired with CCDC’s “Catoctinog”
2013-12-13 19.50.53Cocktails at Catoctin Creek

2nd Course
Smoked Chicken and Bitter Green Risotto
Finished with Lemon, Fresh Herbs and Aged Parmesan Cheese
Paired with CCDC’s “Moonshine Chanukkah”2013-12-13 20.11.43

3rd Course
Braised Green Lentils with Local Lamb Sausage, Roasted Carrot Puree,
Honey and Chili Marinated Rack of Lamb
Mint and Lime Gremolatta – I think the Rack of Lamb stole the show – with whisky, you need meat (fat is good too) and the tender lamb on the bone was decadent..it also was delish with the lentils fatted up carrot puree (lamb sausage to boot!)
2013-12-13 20.33.58Paired with CCDC’s “The Wry Gingerman”

4th Course
Dark Chocolate “Pots de Crème”,
Cranberry-Mint Compote and Freshly Whipped Cream
Catoctin Creek Distillery is located at 120 West Main Street, Purcellville, Virginia and the new location is WAY better than the old warehouse!

For reference, the event was held on Friday, December 13, 2013 – yes, Friday the 13th – Boo!

On the Rocks Or Whiskeython!

October 13th, 2013 • No Comments

On The Rocks: Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival 2013

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Washingtonian hosts our second annual whiskey and fine spirits festival, On the Rocks, on October 10, 2013. Guests will enjoy a live band, delectable fare, and sips of premium whiskey, Scotch, malt, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and much more. This high-end tasting costs $65 to attend and will be advertised in Washingtonian and on washingtonian.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

On The Rocks: Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival 2013

Washingtonian hosts our second annual whiskey and fine spirits festival, On the Rocks, on October 10, 2013. Guests will enjoy a live band, delectable fare, and sips of premium whiskey, Scotch, malt, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and much more. This high-end tasting costs $65 to attend and will be advertised in Washingtonian and on washingtonian.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

What

  • Unlimited spirits tastings featuring premium whiskey, Scotch, bourbon, rum, vodka, gin, tequila, and more!
  • Exquisite cuisine from acclaimed caterer Spilled Milk Catering
  • Live music and entertainment from NYX Entertainment
  • Collectable ‘On The Rocks’ glasses for all party goers
  • Spirits education from specialists in the industry

When

7pm until 10:30pm

Where


The Powerhouse
3255 Grace Street, NW
Washington DC 20007

Spirits

PLATINUM

Catoctin Creek Distilling Company2013-10-10 20.17.06

Upcoming TasteDC Whiskey Event:

The Single Malt and Scotch Whisky Extravaganza, Wednesday October 30, 2013

American Terroir: A Whiskey Tasting at 6th & I

July 2nd, 2013 • No Comments

Best Deal in an Artisanal Spirit Tasting with an Entertaining Speaker..

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Lindsay Marsh, Speakeasy Spirits

Lindsay Marsh, Speakeasy Spirits

Mondays are always tough to get to a whiskey tasting, but I really enjoyed the 6th and I’s Summer Spirits: A Whiskey Tasting held on July 1st, 2013. It was a sell out crowd of about 150 Whiskey lovers and novices. The tasting was of Leopold Brothers Classic Spirits which are distributed by Leopold family member Lindsay Marsh (Lindsay’s brother in law is a Leopold) of Speakeasy Spirits in Washington, D.C. Lindsay employed quite a bit of family story telling and humor to introduce Leopold’s whiskies and spirits – and a few curious facts including that Mormons who don’t drink alcohol, actually were the first investors in their family brewery in Michigan, prior to their starting a distillery. Family and high real estate costs in Michigan helped the family decide to move to Colorado to expand the distillery.

We tasted through four of their products and then had a Gin and Tonic for the final taste and drink. Below are the whiskies and spirits with some basic tasting notes. If you’re new to artisanal hand-crafted spirits, Leopold is one of the originals.leopoldbrothersspirits Lindsay, who spends much of her time at tastings and in stores in the District promoting and telling the story of Leopold Bros., said that credit for the explosion of American’s interest in small spirits producers should be given to the craft beer industry and home brewing which exploded on the scene a few decades ago with Boston Beer’s Sam Adams, and hasn’t let up. A key point is passion – one of the founding brothers, Todd Leopold, got his start in distilling after  he received his Diploma in Malting and Brewing from the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago in 1996. He and his brother (who is a an Engineer specializing in environmentally sustainable manufacturing processes) do everything from hand and with small production methods: they try to use local ingredients when possible including malting their own grains, fruit from American producers, and even a cyprus wood fermenter which can never be truly cleaned like a stainless steel one – so the character of each fermentation is carried over to the next – this is American Terroir!

Spirits Tasted:

American Small Batch Whiskey – This is aged less than a year in new American oak barrels, but has a surprisingly good flavor from the touch of rye and barley added to the 65% corn mash blend. Could drink neat or in cocktails, this spirit isn’t aged the 2 years minimum for a Straight Bourbon, which gives it more flexibility as a mixer in cocktails.

2013-07-01 20.26.31New York Apple Flavored Whiskey – the Apple juice is actually added to the Whiskey and then aged in bourbon barrels. Some sweetness is left over which makes this a great aperitif or a good mixer in a cocktail like a liqueur – it is 80 Proof though!

Rocky Mountain Blackberry Flavored Whiskey – although Lindsey said this was sweeter than the New York Apple, it seemed drier to me, but this may because of the intensity of the dark blackberry fruit which added also a slight tannic almost red wine characteristic.

Rocky Mountain Peach Flavored Whiskey – the juice of peaches blended with whiskey and aged in used Bourbon barrels. Although this had peach aromatics, because of the intensity and concentration of the fruit it was more varied to me in aromas – maybe even some ripe pear and mango..spirits and fruits always bring out nuances in aroma that are unexpected!

American Small Batch Gin – made small batch from a still (vs. industrial style column still), this is more citrus and less piney juniper. This also has an interesting story: unlike 99% of gin makers, Leopold Bros. distills each botanical (like juniper, coriander, etc.) separately to keep their respective characters in the final cut – again, all about craftsmanship – what “artisanal” really means!

Of course at the end of the class, because I was hanging out with Catoctin Creek Distilling‘s own Emily Landsman, we had to try a few more spirits including the Absinthe, French Press Style Coffee Liqueur, Three Pins Alpine Herbal Liqueur, and quite a few others including a Maraschino Cherry flavored whiskey. Definitely seek these spirits out – they are part of America’s culture. American terroir definitely exists!

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Upcoming Whiskey Events in DC:

Whiskey, Swine and Wine (Sperryville, VA) – July 13th at Wasmund’s

Rum Tasting Class at Ceiba – July 20th in Washington, D.C.

Beer, Bourbon & BBQ -VIP Whole Hog Pig Pickin and Tasting Glass – September 21st in Reston Town Center, VA

Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler

DCBrau Beer Dinner with 1905 Restaurant

March 10th, 2013 • No Comments

DCBrau Needs More Beer Dinners..

Guest Post by Christina Portz “Just the Bottle” Blog:

Did Somebody Say Beer Dinner?

I have great respect for DC Brau. The founders are hard working and passionate men. I remember after they first opened, I tried to find The Public Ale. It was amazing having that first beer. I had a friend at the time who had just moved to San Fransisco and took photos of DC Brau. He eventually made his way back home and loves DC Brau.

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This past Thursday DC Brau held a beer dinner at 1905. The event was featured on TasteDC’s calendar (4-Course DC Brau Beer Dinner )among other great sites. Before the dinner, they held a release happy hour for their Saint Joseph’s Tripel. The beer is named in honor of Joey Belcher. They also donated a portion of the proceeds of the happy hour as well as remembered him fondly during the dinner.

I missed the happy hour as I was catching up with a friend at Vinoteca. It’s another great spot in the area that never gets too packed for weekday happy hour and offers several wines by the glass for $5.

I showed up shortly before the start of dinner. I was greeted by the wonderful staff of 1905 including one of my favorite bartenders, Lyn. She’s a sassy lady with amazing taste in beer and food. I also was lucky enough to meet one of the DC Beers crew, John Fleury.

Let’s get started with this tasty dinner. Nom nom nom.

Amuse Bouche

Oyster Shooter

DC Brau Citizen, Horseradish, Lemon Juice, Pickled Okra
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The amuse bouche featured the DC Brau Citizen as an oyster shooter. I am not the biggest fan usually of oysters, but the spice and acid notes were perfect. The DC Brau Citizen had a balancing effect.

First Course

House-Smoked Pork Belly

Brined in DC Brau Penn Quarter Porter, Maple Glaze, Bacon Collards, Littlenecks

Paired with Penn Quarter Porter (5.5% ABV)

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My preferred beers are stouts or porters. I love the Penn Quarter Porter. The pork belly was succulent. It was so creamy along with the beer it came out very luxurious. The collard greens with bacon added an element of salt.

There were amazing chocolate notes in the porter with some smoke towards the finish.

Second Course

Brau-Brined Salmon

Lemon-Pepper Creme, Deviled Crawfish, Pickled Fennel

Paired with Saint Joseph’s Tripel (10% ABV)

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This was yet another amazing dish. The tripel made delicious sense with the salmon. As Jeff presented the dish, he spoke of having beer compliment or contradict your food. It’s a great aspect of dining with beer.

The salmon was cooked perfectly. It was incredibly moist and sort of fell apart in my mouth. The deviled crawfish and pickled fennel added a nice sourness that was a palate cleanser.

The tripel was a great homage to the Belgian tripel. It wasn’t as overpowering as I find Belgian tripels (possibly food would help). It had lovely citrus notes, some toast and mild sweetness.

Third Course

Crisp-Skin Duck Breast

Housemade Kraut, Sorghum Mustard, Barrel-Aged Ghoul’s Night Out Beer Salt

Paired with Barrel-Aged Ghoul’s Night Out (11% ABV)

Aged in Catoctin Creek Grape Brandy Barrels

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Next we moved onto the duck, which to quote my man friend was “quacktastic”. The sorghum mustard added spicy notes combined with the barrel aged ghoul’s night our beer salt and beer itself. The beer had amazing caramel notes that brought out additional flavor in the duck.

Even though I prefer heavier beers, this may have been my favorite. It reminded me somewhat of a doppelbock with caramel flavors and a lovely smoothness.

We also had the opportunity to sample the Catoctin Creek Brandy to have a better understanding of how the beer was aged. This may be my new favorite brandy. It was very smooth with great vanilla notes and hints of molasses.

Final Course

“Coffee & Doughnuts”

Paired with Barrel-Aged Penn Quarter Porter (5.5% ABV)

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Obviously, I love donuts. I went to the donut party. One can never have enough donuts. As we finished our dinner, we were treated to donuts with light powdered sugar, chocolate ganche sauce, Barrel Aged Penn Quarter Porter and a coffee styled chaser.

The donuts were light, fluffy and warm. That’s a key to donuts is conning the mouth into thinking they are eating something that hasn’t been fried in grease. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

The barrel aging added more vanilla and toasty notes with hints of whiskey to the beer. It rounded the finish.

This was an amazing dinner with great people both attending and working the event. I always love my visits to 1905 and hope to go back soon.

Oh and DC Brau! I’m calling you out. Have more beer dinners!!

Virginia IS Whiskey Country!

August 22nd, 2011 • No Comments

Enjoyed a fantastic tour of Catoctin Creek Distillery on Saturday, August 20th, 2011 when the DC Whiskey Drinkers (Facebook) had our private tour with Scott Harris and his team. Let me just say first, that for a City Slicker (I live in Georgetown) the area around Purcellville, VA is so relaxing and bucolic that I could feel all my tension fading away even before I came to the Distillery’s door. Catoctin Creek is located in an industrial park, but it’s a pretty quaint low-industrial area, and it’s pretty much smack in the middle of the woods! Also, I was relieved to find that my GPS took right to the front door, something that rarely happens this far out.

Catoctin Creek Distillery - Entrance

I didn’t realize it until I got there, but the Distillery is a pretty popular place on weekends, and the fact that we nabbed a private tour through the owner made a big difference – after our group of about 15 left, a mob of 50 or more thirsty whiskey lovers filled the tasting room and warehouse and we felt lucky to have had the privilege! Here’s a photo of the whiskey’s we tasted – note that there is already a plan to change the labels.

Catoctin Creek Distillery is currently producing 3 spirits – Mosby’s Spirits, Roundstone Rye and Watershed Gin – as well as Pearousia Pear Brandy. Mosby’s is an organic (actually, all of Catoctin Creek’s spirits are organic – this is why Scott is constantly forced to search for organic rye growers throughout the U.S.) unaged white spirit – but the rye definitely comes through with both a sweet and almost earthy best I can describe it as hot pepper and clay flavor that really awakens the senses – THIS is what Vodka only hopes to be! The Roundstone Rye is ages 4 month in new oak and is a mellower more rounded version of the Mosby, with just enough caramel/brown sugar from the oak to make this a great sipping whiskey. The Gin is botanical with more of a citrus, orange fruit component and less herby than many, which lends well to mixing with more fruit concentrated drinks to match. I didn’t try the Pearousia – oh well, there’s always another day..

Without going into too much detail about the process of making whiskey (Distilling 101 – another class, another day..) Scott takes the rye and turns it into a beer of sorts, also called the “Wort” – basically beer without hops and a Distiller’s Yeast vs Brewer’s Yeast fermented to approximately 10% alcohol before it’s put into the still and converted into spirit. The middle photo is the Wort in the still, the photo to the right of that is actually before that during the fermentation into beer. Some interesting side notes: Virginia doesn’t produce much organic rye grain, so Scott has to go elsewhere to get it (he wants to be truly local, but alas..)..while distilling the Wort, a percentage of the first distillation called the “heads” is unusable because it’s poisonous – the ratios Scott gave are 100 gallons of beer distill into 10 gallons of spirit of which about 1/2 gallon of that is lost as the undrinkable “heads”. Scott distills to about 170 Proof (85% alcohol) and cuts it to around 90 Proof. When he makes the brown rye aged spirit, he ages in new charred oak barrels for 4 months – 10 lbs. of spirit is absorbed by the wood and is lost (spirits are about 7 lbs. to a gallon, so he loses another 1 gallon and change – rather than throw out these barrels, he sells them to breweries (like DCBrau – DC’s first Brewery in almost 60 years!)

On the left is the Kothe Still – it’s sort of a combo pot and continuous still, and is one of the reasons that American Micro-Distilling is growing at such a rapid pace. Our group really enjoyed the tour – so much so, that one of our group purchased 2 cases..I’ll need to visit them soon! If you’re interested in tasting Catoctin Creek’s products, definitely take the weekend tour – but you can also find many of their spirits in stores throughout the Washington, D.C. region. Catoctin Creek is also the only distillery we have pouring with 34 breweries at MAC Brew Fest – DC’s Own Beer Festival on Saturday, October 15th, 2011 – if you’re planning to visit DC, check it out – Cheers!