Review #625 - Castle & Key Restoration Rye Single Barrel

While the Castle & Key brand is quite young - it began operations in 2018 - the distillery that it employs has a much longer history. Back in 1887, Colonel E.H. Taylor built the Old Taylor distillery in Millville, Kentucky, a small town not far from Frankfort. The site boasted unusual architecture for the area, including a European-inspired castle and gardens; the distillery was closed due to prohibition, however, and over time, the site changed owners repeatedly.

The distillery fell into disrepair, but in 2014, the current owners purchased it with the intention to restore it; they completed their work in time for a grand re-opening in September of 2018. An inaugural release followed in 2020, a rye called 'Restoration' - we have a single barrel version of that here, but our bottle came in 2023. It's a pick done by Market District, a chain of grocery stores concentrated in the Midwest USA.

This single barrel rye carries an age statement of 3 years - still relatively young, but no surprise given the age of the distillery operations. It's bottled at a strength of 54.3% ABV (108.6 proof), and this rye is made with a mashbill of 63% rye, 17% corn, and 20% malted barley.

Castle & Key Restoration Rye Single Barrel - Market District Pick

USA - Rye

Price: USD 65 (2025)

Age Statement: 3 Years

Strength: 54.3% ABV

Details: Barrel 3115; bottled 2023

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 10 months; bottles at 70%, 30%, and 20% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Spicy with strong rye notes - menthol, herbal grain, black licorice candies. It smells very young, and we're getting some sharpness like permanent markers and glue; there's a subtle buttery scent, maybe a bit of vanilla. A smell like gasoline lingers.

Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness; it's hot and raw, very spicy. Lots of black pepper, anise, and spearmint; raw, dusty grains and pine add more sharp notes. The oak brings a hint of cinnamon, and we get more youthful spirit notes; in the background, there's a tiny hint of sweetness like Sprite soda.

Finish: Warming and sharp with youthful ethanol notes, some spices of black licorice and pepper. Minty notes grow stronger; lemon-lime soda and chalk linger in the aftertaste. It's a medium length finish.

Final Note: For us, this is just too young - we've had 3 year old whiskies before that didn't taste nearly as youthful as this, and we think this needs longer in the barrel to be ready. There is a strong spicy, rye-forward side to this that shows potential for the future, but more oak influence is required to mellow this out and add some more sweetness to balance the spice and heat.

Value isn't great due to the score; that said, the price is somewhat reasonable for a new release. If the price point stays the same, this could be a future value pick if the rye whisky is allowed to age more before bottling.

Our Average Rating: 3.0 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 2.99

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.