Catoctin Creek

In colonial times there were distilleries all over the country. It is said that there were over 3,000 in Virginia alone. These weren’t big, urban, industrial facilities that would be made popular later on in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. These were small family distilleries, farm distilleries. While the men worked the fields, it was oftentimes the women who took care of the house, the children and the distilling. They would distill their excess grain to keep them from going to waste. In doing so they made a valuable commodity, whisky, that they could use to trade and barter for goods and services, bringing the community together. With the growth of giant corporations and the hustle and bustle of modern life, this sense of community and togetherness around small businesses can feel lost at times, but the American Craft movement is hoping to change that. In Purcellville, Virginia, Catoctin Creek Distilling Company is looking back at Virginia’s history, blending tradition with modern technology, and emulating the small business spirit of a simpler time.

*Scott & Becky circa 1991, license BY-ND*

Scott Harris was working as a software engineer in Atlanta, Georgia after graduating from Georgia Tech with both a bachelor's and master’s in computer science. One fateful weekend in 1991, Scott had some friends over to his house to watch football. Scott’s best friend, Chuck, decided to bring his sister, Becky, as his plus one. There was an immediate spark between Scott and Becky. They started dating shortly after, and got married in 1993. They moved to Virginia in 1997 and in June of 2001, Scott began working in government contracting, focusing on special projects for the Navy. Becky, who had worked as a chemical engineer in Georgia, making computer parts and contact lenses for companies like YDK America and CIBA Vision, was at home taking care of their two young boys. Meanwhile, Scott sat in his windowless cubicle, staring at a computer screen for 8 hours a day, the fluorescent lights above him draining his soul little by little, year after year.

“I was like, ‘man this sucks’ … I could spend the rest of my life doing this. It would be like my version of hell ... I’m having these conversations in my head, challenging myself … ‘What do you want to do? You’re getting paid good money. What are you gonna do?’ And I kept coming back to, ‘Well, I like whiskey!’ I had become a whiskey connoisseur as a consumer, drinking tons of scotch and bourbon, so I was really interested in that, of course not knowing a damn thing about how it is made aside from the romance that everybody kind of knows. I was like, ‘That would be really cool, and no one is doing that in this area. I should start a distillery.’ ” - Scott Harris, Co-Founder Catoctin Creek

He took the idea to Becky, suggesting that as a chemical engineer she could learn to distill. Becky had no doubt in her mind that was true. In comparison to doing copper and nickel plating on plastics, distilling was relatively straightforward. Her concern was whether or not Scott could make money selling whiskey. She urged him to write up a formal business plan and take it to the bank. It was 2009, and the country was in the midst of the financial crisis. Banks were tightening up, and Becky figured she could be supportive of Scott’s idea and let the bank be the bad guy. But that isn’t what happened. Scott fancies himself a numbers guy, which is no surprise for a man with his background and expertise. His experience in government contracting, running $2-3 million projects had uniquely prepared him to run a small business, and make sure all the i’s were dotted and t’s crossed. He made sure they were getting the right equipment, sourcing from the best vendors and getting the best prices. He had scenarios written into the plan for how they were going to get their first customers and grow from there. To their surprise, the bank loved the business plan. After putting it through every stress test they could think of, they couldn’t manage to break it. It was too solid. The bank granted them a $250,000 SBA loan. Scott put together all the meticulous paperwork for the federal and state license applications, and in January of 2010 they were producing spirits.

Distilleries require an incredible amount of upfront investment, so the loan certainly helped, but Scott and Becky were also pouring their entire life savings into this venture. In order to be licensed in Virginia, a distillery needed to have already purchased all of their equipment, set it up, and tested it to make sure it functioned properly. That meant securing a commercial location, signing a lease, thousands upon thousands of dollars in equipment, all before they could legally make a single drop. Despite Becky’s confidence in learning to distill, she herself was not a huge whiskey fan. Scott had some experience brewing and had worked for a winery in highschool, so he had some relevant knowledge, but that’s a lot different than knowing how to evaluate a raw distillate or market a brand. With all this money invested up front, they had sacrificed so much with no guarantee that the two of them had what it would take to make it work. Before the official distillery was up and running, they did a couple test batches in their garage to find out what different distillations tasted like, but for Scott it was more about faith. Faith in themselves.

He recounts a story from just after they were approved for their loan. Scott used a new social media platform, Twitter, to announce they had the financing to start their distillery. Shortly after, he received a call from Emily Maltby, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal who was doing a story on SBA loans, and wanted to feature them to lend a human element to the piece.

“We got into the Wall Street Journal. We hadn’t even made anything. We felt like we were ordained by God to do this. We could do no wrong. Of course it will be good if we make it, because it has to be. Why would we do all this trouble otherwise? That’s kind of the complex you have when you’re an entrepreneur. You’re just gonna go full steam ahead, because of course it will be good.” - Scott Harris

Divine intervention or not, their strict process backgrounds proved to be a big asset. The laws in Virginia were not favorable to distilleries. When Catoctin Creek opened, they were not allowed to sell products on their premises or even offer tastings. Scott used his detail oriented mind to help write legislation and lobby congress to change those laws, giving the distillery a revenue stream that could keep them afloat. Becky, the sole employee for a long time, was doing most of the work by herself. In the face of this challenge, she was able to set up a rigid set of processes and standards that allowed her to function alone while producing high quality spirits.

With production well underway, Scott and Becky’s backgrounds as engineers and a healthy dose of entrepreneurial self confidence had guided them well up to this point, but there is a lot more to building a brand than making a product. They continued to do pretty much everything themselves, from distillation to bottling. Scott even designed the original labels himself … on Microsoft Word. Admittedly, the label was not pretty, but as the only local distillery around, they were able to get away with it for a while. It wasn’t until they started to grow that the lack of beauty and messaging in their branding became evident as a problem. Scott went to a bar convention in Berlin, Germany where he met an honest Irish bartender.

“He said, ‘These are fantastic. The juice is really good, and I will never have this on my bar.’ My jaw dropped. I asked, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘It looks like you printed it on an inkjet printer. It looks terrible.’ And he was right. I was devastated. I came home and Becky had to ground me. She said, ‘Look, he did you a favor. He told you the truth.’ “ - Scott Harris

They hired marketing consultants who dug into their story to help them communicate their narrative through new branding. For Scott and Becky, the idea of a Virginia whisky had been lost in the mist of time. It was something small and diverse, akin to the whisky that was made by those thousands of family distilleries during colonial times. Scott and Becky wanted to emulate that spirit. They were, after all, a family from Virginia who had risked everything in order to champion a small business that was ingrained in the community. If you look closely, you’ll notice that they spell whisky without the “e.” This is an homage to the Scottish ancestors who brought generations of whisky making experience with them to the new world, and used it to create America’s first spirit, rye whisky. They only make rye whisky, made entirely with rye grown in Virginia. They don’t make bourbon or malt whiskies, because that’s not their history. The carnival style fonts used on their labels are meant to bring you back to that colonial era. Catoctin Creek is an actual creek that runs through their town, and a map of Loudoun County, their home, is featured in the background on every label. Additionally, a circular medallion featuring a flowering dogwood, the state flower of Virginia, sits atop their logo.

Tradition is important to them. They use it to influence their methods in every step of the process, with a few modifications based on either superior technology or physical limitations. They ferment on the grain at room temperature, as it was done back in the day, but rather than using open top wooden cask fermenters which are terribly difficult to clean and subject to wild yeast strains, they use food grade stainless steel fermenters with a sealed top to maintain consistency.

Traditional whisky is distilled twice through a copper pot still. They use a hybrid pot/column still made by Kothe Destillationstechnik out of Eislingen, Germany. The hybrid still allows them to make their spirit in one 9 hour run, a huge physical and financial benefit when they were just starting out, and Becky was doing everything alone. The flexibility of the column also allows Becky to be precise with how much reflux she wants depending on which product she’s making. For example, their Rabble Rouser Bottled in Bond Rye uses less reflux than their flagship, Roundstone Rye. This is meant to give the Rabble Rouser a chewier texture, and a bit more body to stand up to the longer aging in a barrel. They have considered, at times, getting new equipment or possibly changing their process to be more efficient, but always come back to a founding philosophy.

“As a small producer, what do you want to do? How do you differentiate yourself from the big guys who can do something for so much cheaper than you can do it. How do you make yourself different and interesting? It's by doing some of the things they’re not willing to do. Pot still whisky or batch process whisky, whatever you want to call it, even if we’re not pure pot because we have the flexibility with the column, we’re still doing a batch process whisky that is creating flavor as well as distilling out fermented flavor. The longer you cook that changes the congeners and things that you’re getting out.” - Becky Harris, Co-Founder Catoctin Creek

Scott compares it to making tomato sauce. If you take raw tomatoes and puree them up in a blender, you’re going to get this bright and acidic product. If you take that and put it in a pot and cook it down for 9 hours, the sugars are going to break down and caramelize becoming something totally different. As Scott would proudly say, they are obstinately inefficient.

They started out filling 30 gallon barrels from Minnesota with a level 3 char. They chose 30 gallon barrels because, unlike the industry standard 53 gallon barrels, Becky could move them on her own. Additionally, they chose 30 gallon barrels over smaller options that many other craft distillers opt for, because they felt it brought more seasonality to their spirits. With smaller barrels, the whiskey interacts with the wood faster. Since American whiskies are made in new charred oak, the wood can quickly take over in a small barrel in as little as a year or less. While this rapid interaction you can quickly draw out some typical whiskey aromas and flavors like vanilla or caramel, it doesn’t give the spirit as much time to soften by filtering through the char layer on the staves or create more complex aromas and flavors through oxidation. With a 30 gallon barrel, you are still getting a decent amount of interaction in a shorter period of time than you would with a 53 gallon barrel, but it will need to sit for a couple years. Catoctin Creek doesn’t climate control their barrel warehouse, so temperature swings from season to season can help the barrels breathe the spirit in and out while acquiring some nice qualities from oxygen and bacteria over time.

Catoctin Creek offers consumers four whiskies. Their flagship product is the Roundstone Rye at 80 proof. They offer a Distiller’s Edition at 92 proof and there is a cask strength offering as well. Finally there is the Rabble Rouser Bottled in Bond, which is made in small batches for limited release. Though their process is precise and their standards are rigid, there has been a lot of room for their products to grow and evolve over time. All of their whiskies, with the exception of Rabble Rouser, are single barrel expressions. This means that while they do look to create profiles with a recognizable Catoctin DNA, they aren’t saying that it’s going to be exactly the same all the time.

Scott and Becky are proud to say that their rye grain comes from local Virginia farms, but when they were first starting out it was very difficult to find farmers who would grow grain for them. For the first 6 or 7 years, they had to rely on commercial mills where they had no control over the varietals they would receive. Now they do have a handful of local farms they work with. Their mash bill is 100% rye, but not all one varietal. Their farmers need to find varietals that work well for their land and climates, so the combination has changed from time to time. Whenever a farmer brings a new varietal to Becky, she distills one batch with 100% of that specific grain so she can evaluate it’s profile from a sensory standpoint to get an idea of how it may fit into their products. Once she has a sense of it’s character she will slowly start to incorporate it into the mashbill in small quantities to maintain a consistent flavor profile. For a company that mostly deals in single barrel releases, they are basically doing the blending at the front end of production, with each varietal lending complexity and diversity of flavor from the very beginning.

The first aged whiskey they released was only a month and a half old. Virginia is a control state, which meant that at the time Catoctin Creek opened, the only way to sell was through Virginia controlled liquor stores. The state wasn’t interested in unaged whisky, so Scott and Becky’s only option for getting something on the shelves was a young spirit.

“We were like shit … I guess we’re gonna sell some young whisky. But … I never released anything that I didn’t think tasted good. You’re not going to get people to buy your next bottle if the first bottle’s a dud. It never was hot. It never had that, ‘Boy if this sure had some sugar and cinnamon and apple pie spice in there I would drink it but right now it’s really nasty.’ No, it always had to be good, and … it had to be appealing to me always. It still does.” - Becky Harris

*Photo: Thoroughbred Spirits, License BD-NY*

To guarantee the legitimacy of every product they release, Catoctin Creek uses an old school monogram, reminiscent of those pressed into wax seals during the middle ages as a mark of authenticity. For them, making whisky is not just about selling bottles and making profits. It’s about challenging the notions of what whisky is supposed to be. Their philosophy of dynamic yet approachable spirits is a push back against the snobbery that has taken root in the whisky industry. They started off with just the 80 proof Roundstone Rye, and felt pressure from “whiskey nerds” to release something at a higher proof. When they eventually released the 92 proof Distillers Edition, they considered dropping the 80 proof, but found their original release had built a strong following. It emboldened them to stick to their guns, and not let anyone else try to pressure them into making their spirits any way but their own.

“It’s ok to know what you like. Whisky is such a palate of colors and shapes and flavors … It's kind of like shaming people for not liking a big cabernet. People’s bodies are built differently and we need to respect that. Let’s just meet people where they are and give them a validation that what you’re experiencing is actually real, and not incorrect. There’s no gatekeeper out there telling you what you’re supposed to do.” - Becky Harris

“Well, there is, but you don’t need to listen to them.” - Scott Harris

Their barrels used to age in an old horse barn. While the lack of climate control within the barn certainly assisted with seasonality as previously mentioned, it also came with a number of challenges. At times the elements were almost too intense, with some barrels freezing over in the cold winter months. The floor was dirt, so they were limited in their ability to safely stack barrels, and moving them in and out of the barn was a chore. They have since moved to another warehouse, with concrete floors, allowing them to fill 53 gallon barrels since they can now use a forklift to move barrels rather than doing it all by hand. The larger barrels will require longer age statements that will bring more complexity and nuance to their whisky. They are also experimenting with Virginia oak barrels to deepen their provenance and connection to the state.

When Becky is going through the barrels in their warehouse, she gathers a team of women that has included their Operations Manager, Melissa Glover, their tasting room manager, Denise Petty, and Maria Figueroa who works in their tasting room, among other palates that have come and gone over the years. They all nose the barrels at cask strength first. If it doesn’t have a great nose, then it’s tough to know where to go with it. They then taste through 6 to 12 barrels at a time. For the cask strength Roundstone, they are looking for an amazing nose and integrated flavors. Becky doesn’t want it to be all burn up front where you have to wait for the flavors to come through. The fruitiness and citrus notes that she is looking for all have to come through at once. They then proof the barrels down to 92 proof and evaluate them again. Here they are looking for nice citrus and plum notes with a spice finish. Finally, they proof them down to 80 proof and run through the process again. That way they can look back at their notes and figure out which barrels work for each expression. If there is one that is really interesting, or doesn’t quite meet the profiles they are looking for in their flagship products they will set them aside for private barrel picks or experimental finishes to help them find a home. No barrel goes to waste.

In fact, not much at Catoctin Creek goes to waste. They have a big focus on sustainability and aspire to be as low to no waste as possible. They installed solar panels on their roof to help power their distillery, bringing their electric bills down to zero in some of the brighter months. The spent grain from their mash is sent to local farms to be used as cattle feed, helping family owned farms stay in business. Their head cuts are bottled and used as a cleaner for the distillery. The tails are collected, batched together and then redistilled to make the base for their gin. They’re motto is, “Think global, drink local,” and they have become role models for the whole industry.

As the only distillery within a hundred miles when they first opened, they weren’t able to band together with other craft distillers, so they decided to lean in where they were strong. Catoctin Creek has developed a close relationship with the local bar and restaurant scene, hosting regular dinners with guest chefs at their distillery. Forging these relationships is not only a smart way to move your product if you’re young distillery, but also allows you to connect with your local community. They do a lot of private barrel picks with local businesses, each one searching for their own unique expression of Catoctin Creek for their customers. With the Covid-19 pandemic hitting these places hard, many have not been able to afford the special releases they ordered. Catoctin Creek bought all those barrels back to relieve some of the financial burden from the crisis. They decided to blend all the barrels together to create what they are calling the #InThisTogether Barrel Select Rye Whisky. 100% of the profits from the sale of this whisky goes to charities supporting the local food and beverage community.

Craft distilleries have also suffered hardships due to the pandemic, and Becky knows this better than most as the President of the Board of Directors for the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA), a national nonprofit trade group that supports the craft spirits industry. For most craft producers, around 80% of their sales are in their home state with 40% typically coming from their own tasting rooms. Already facing a disadvantage in the marketplace when competing against large corporate brands, the lack of ability to connect with their consumers in an easy and personal way threatens to shut the doors on many distilleries for good. Becky and the ACSA have been lobbying hard to try and push legislation forward that would give craft producers a life line. They hope to secure the lower excise tax that has been in place for the last several years, reducing the cost per proof gallon that distilleries need to pay the government. Many states have loosened restrictions on direct to consumer sales in the last six months, giving distilleries a new avenue to their customers. The ACSA is hoping to make those changes permanent and expand it nationwide, something that could not only save distilleries in this pandemic, but would be a game changer for the movement.

“That’s absolutely what people want. If we focus on what consumers want, and we’ve proven it can be done safely -wineries have been doing it for years- the side effect of that is that small businesses are supported in a way that is amazing, and it also adds revenue to all the states. When we looked at Virginia we saw that not only did people sell more out of their tasting rooms, they also sold on average 33% more in the state stores. Why is that? Not everybody is going to want to pay shipping to get their bottle, but now they saw that email, and they’re thinking about Ironclad Distilling or Catoctin Creek Distilling or Dida’s Distillery. The next time they’re in the store, they see it in the Virginia section and say, ‘You know what? I’m going to pick up a bottle of that too.’ Direct to consumer shipping is not just a way to sell bottles. It’s also marketing and creating relationships with your customers.” - Becky Harris

For a small business, creating those relationships with consumers is so important. Investing in your local community and supporting one another is not just key, it’s a mindset and a way of life. Scott and Becky started out as two engineers, who sacrificed everything they had built for themselves on a dream to make great whisky. Since then, they have become small business crusaders. They are trailblazers in the craft industry, inspiring countless men and women around the world, embracing tradition and challenging stereotypes, celebrating their community and lifting it up. So much of the success and the rise of craft distilleries is the desire by people to invest in something that reflects a community. To experience that and be a part of it. Craft distilleries aren’t competing with each other. They are all competing with the big industrial giants. Legacy brands who are going to beat them on age and price almost every time. Becky likes to tell people that if they’re willing to spend a bit more money on something craft, that money isn't going to the top 1%. It’s not going into some hedge fund to make a rich person even richer. That money is going to ballet lessons or soccer fees. It’s putting food on the table for a local family. It’s being poured back into the community. It’s going to people who are out there with a dream, trying to build something, just like the colonial pioneers who built this country. We should all be encouraging that, because we are, after all, in this together.

TASTING NOTES:

Roundstone Rye Whisky (40% ABV)

Nose: Bright lemon citrus, roasted peaches, grassy, rosemary

Palate: The mouthfeel is soft and oily with orange zest and a touch of vanilla up front that become marshmallow and bruleed banana. The finish is short with a prickle of heat that dances on the tongue with flavors of cocoa, clove and light wood, like chewing on a toothpick.

This rye manages to be both incredibly dynamic and approachable. The low proof allows for the whisky to be easy to drink without sacrificing body or flavor.

Roundstone Rye Whisky (46% ABV)

Nose: Spearmint, green banana, rose petal, salted caramel

Palate: The mouthfeel is dry and bready with hints of sourdough crust and rye pancakes leading to notes of maple, cinnamon and ruby red plum like a sweet pull apart pastry. The finish is long and spicy with chili powder, oak and ash.

This is a beautiful whisky. It builds on the foundational flavors found in the 80 proof version with a bigger body and finish that leaves a lingering warmth in your chest.

Roundstone Rye Whisky (Cask Proof, 58% ABV)

Nose: Snickerdoodle cookie dough, banana bread, buttercream frosting, rosemary

Palate: The mouthfeel is hot and oily. The front is spicy with a briny saltiness, black pepper and clove. The spice transitions into ginger snaps and brown sugar leading to a long finish of fresh green bell pepper and tobacco.

The nose on this whisky reminds us of walking into a bakery and opening the cake fridge, with those sweet and cool pastry aromas delighting the senses. The heat on the palate is consistent but manageable, allowing for flavor to persist throughout.

TASTING NOTES:

High Wire Distillery

Wigle Whiskey