Whiskey Review: Restoration Rye 2020 Batch 1
Whiskey Review: Restoration Rye 2020 Batch 1
Editor’s Note: This whiskey was provided to us as a review sample by Castle & Key. This in no way, per
, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link towards the bottom of this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.
The Castle and Key journey has roots dating back to 1887, when Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr built a castle at his Old Taylor Distillery inspired by European architecture. Unfortunately, Prohibition closed the Old Taylor distillery in 1920, and the property changed hands many times before falling into ruin. In 2014 the property was purchased to be the home of Castle and Key. Wes Murray and Will Arvin didn’t just renovate this old distillery; they restored it to its original status as a bourbon tourism destination.
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When Castle & Key was founded in 2014, there were a lot of significant developments associated with the opening of the new distillery. The facility involved a complete refurbishing of the historic Old Taylor Distillery in Frankfort, Ky., a magnificent castle of whiskey history. The company announced that its first distiller would be Marianne Eaves, the first female distiller to run a major operation in decades. She departed the company for other ventures in 2019.
Since it takes time to age whiskey from clear corn juice to nuanced brown magic, the folks at Castle & Key did what a lot of young distilleries have to do in order to get some cash flow going they started out with clear spirits as their first products released to the public. Their Sacred Spring Vodka was, well … vodka, so you can’t really expect too much extraordinary out of something like that. It was fine and proved that the operation was proficient in making their own base spirit. It w
Castle & Key Finally Has An American Whiskey To Call Its Own
Castle & Key Finally Has An American Whiskey To Call Its Own
The saga of the Castle & Key distillery out of Kentucky is one we’ve documented well here at The Whiskey Wash since it first came on the radar back in 2014 at the site of the historic and pretty well abandoned Old Taylor Distillery. It has been a heck of a ride for those working there in the ensuing years, most of that time under the helm of female master distiller Marianne Eaves. She’s been gone from there for a bit now, but in her wake work has continued, and now the first true whiskey under their brand has recently emerged.