Catoctin Creek Rabble Rouser Bottled in Bond Rye Whiskey Review

Updated April 1, 2024

By Richard Thomas

Average Rating: B+

Rabble Rouser has been around for a few years now, having first been released in 2015. Although it has been a four year old expression from the beginning, it was not initially labeled a bottled in bond and therefore can’t be considered as a forerunner of the craft bottled in bond whiskeys that started coming out in 2017. Even so, it was quite novel to have a four year age statement on a craft rye back in 2015.

Catoctin Creek used their house 100% rye mash for making Rabble Rouser, but the distillate isn’t the same as what goes into Roundstone Rye. Instead, they chose to distill it to a lower proof, a choice that puts more of just about everything but alcohol in the new make.

Past that, it’s a bottled in bond: distilled at Catoctin Creek in a single season; four years old, the minimum for the category; aged under government supervision; bottled at 100 proof.

The Whiskey
In the glass, Catoctin Creek Rabble Rouser has the look of brightly polished copper. A coating of the glass forms a beady crown and drops skinny legs.

The scent comes on with dill and cookie spices first, followed by a spoonful of brown sugar, then some musty old wood and pine needles underneath. A sip reveals a whiskey that is deeply spicy, albeit mildly and pleasantly so. A moderate dollop of ginger and pepper is rounded out with cinnamon, cardamom and sweetened just a touch with vanilla. From there, the finish is briefly spicy, but this fades fast and leaves behind that musty wood from the nose. One can really see the choice of lower distillation proof yielding dividends in the flavor.

Addendum by Kenrick Thurston-Wilcox
The whiskey is a distinct mix of red and brown in the glass. The nose is what one expects in a good glass of rye, very herbaceous with notes of mint and grass, oak, caramel, rye bread, peppercorn with floral notes. The palate brings more of the same rye qualities with the rye spiciness coming through first, mint and grass once again, rye bread and some candied orange notes. There is a slight sharpness to the whiskey when it first hits your tongue. The finish is smoky and of medium length.

If you know someone who is hesitant to try rye this is a great representation of traditional rye flavors and one that I would suggest to anyone. It doesn’t bring any new flavors or ideas to the table and it doesn’t need to. It’s well made with all the flavors being clear, concise and distinct even representing the floral qualities that a lot of ryes tend to omit. Be careful picking this up as this Rabble Rouser may just win you over with its ideas.

The Price
A bottle of Rabble Rouser now fetches $99. That is up only four bucks from when this was first covered in 2019, which is hardly surprising given the post-Pandemic inflation cycle.