Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye – Binny’s Barrel #234

Castle & Key’s distillery starts it life in 1887 when Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr built the structure inspired by European architecture.  The result featured a Castle, a classical Springhouse, and a Sunken Garden, and contributed to an age of bourbon hospitality.  Sadly, it wouldn’t last, and the distillery was shuttered in 1920 with the passing of prohibition.  Purchased in 2014, the team at Castle & Key began work to create a functioning distillery.  Nearly 100 years later (2018) the first spirits became available for purchase, with aged spirits following in 2021/2022.  Among these are single barrel selections, such as Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye – Binny’s Barrel #234.  So has their effort paid off?

Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye – Binny’s Barrel #234

• Mash Bill: 17% Yellow Corn / 63% Rye  / 20% Malted Barley
• Barrel No.: 234
• Bottle No.: 32
• Age: 4 Years
• Released: 2022
• Proof: 115.9 (A.B.V. 57.9%)

Sight: Russet Muscat to Tawny

Smell:   Hello, would you like ALL OF THE PEANUTS.  The noses explodes with peanuts, peanut brittle, peanut butter, and an armada of other peanut notes.   A yeasty dough and mild milk chocolate flavor.  The nuttiness covers a lot of the herbal notes, and instead lets some brown sugar and baking spice out.

Sip:  It’s viscous, rich, and creamy on the palate.  There’s a creamed honey and peanut that comes forward.   The vanilla and pastry notes pick up a significant amount of clove and herbs.  There’s a deep amount of caramelized brown sugar and light notes of fruit that comes through.  There’s some apple and peach notes that get through too, but it’s heavily peanut and sugar orientated.

Savor:   The finish carries through dessert like peanut notes mixed with peaches and light mint.  The warm baking spices and a touch of tea like astringency gets into the mix.  Welcoming oaky notes and light toasted elements finish the long, lingering, peanut finish.

Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye – Binny’s Barrel #234 is delightfully dessert like without losing the underpinned rye.  It has a moderate amount of complexity and layered sugary notes.  The yeastiness is pleasant and balanced, working as a good foil to neutralize some of the more predominate rye elements.   Overall, this is a fun rye, and one that I think offers a lot at this price point.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye is smooth, hiding between the sweetness of the red plum in the vermouth.   The herbal flavors emphasize slightly here, but there’s not a stand out element beyond the caramel and vanilla.   The black tea notes creep up as it warms up.  Overall, it doesn’t feel like a 120 proof rye Manhattan, and this disappearing act is a little disappointing.

Compared to another Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye

Another single barrel pick reveals a large gulf.  The color shows a bit less, going toward russet muscat.  The nose shows interesting aromas of honey and cinnamon with wine like fermented fruits.   The herbal touches of the rye creep in adding a savory juniper kind of backdrop, but it lets a honeyed baklava come out.   There’s a slight pastry and vanilla nose complexity.  The palate explodes with raspberry, peaches, and mint.  It’s moderate bodied, and pulls in honeyed tea notes.  The flavor is almost similar to a deeply complex, aged dessert wine made with noble rot.  There’s a hint of coffee and waffle cone here too.  The sweetness here belies a funny sort of sweet white fruit character.  The finish is complexly herbal and mixed with dried fruits.  The finish brings forward some lingering dried red fruit notes.

Overall, it’s another stunner, even if it’s completely different.  It gives me confidence in picking another barrel this rye.

In Review – Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye – Binny’s Barrel #234

Castle & Key Single Barrel Restoration Rye is really good on it’s own.  Especially for the price point, and the step up over the standard shelfer (Castle & Key Restoration Rye).  The premium bottle and cork add a richness to the experience, but the complex flavor of the rye inside adds up for a lot of fun.  Having two bottles that both positively show this is a confidence booster for picking up another one of these, especially around $60.