The Story

If there was an award for the most beautiful distillery grounds in whiskey, Castle & Key might just be #1. Eventually we’ll write an article about the tasting experience at C&K, because it’s just incredible. From the botanical garden to the creek that runs through it, to the industrial-themed gift shop and castle-style architecture of the old Taylor home, it’s quite a scene to behold. They just know how to create an experience.

That experience runs right down to the smallest details too, including the beautiful bottle design. And of course, the whiskey inside.

It had been a long four years before Castle & Key fans finally got the opportunity to set their lips upon the small batch bourbon they’d been promised from the beginning. Their own distillate aged on their own grounds. 73% corn, 10% rye, 17% malted barley. Certainly a unique mashbill, given the higher malted barley content which you don’t often see.

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to attend Bourbon on the Banks and stop off at the tasting trailer for C&K. When I made my way to the front, I had the option to try batches 4, 5 and 6. I asked the guy pouring what his favorite was, and he told me Batch 6. If it’s his favorite, then I’m sure it’ll be good enough for me. And yes, that was a delicious pour.

But we’re not here to talk about Batch 6; we got our hands on a bottle of Batch 5, and that gives us the ability to go into greater detail. Maybe in the future we’ll get a batch 6 and we can compare. Castle & Key, if you see this – we wouldn’t mind getting a bottle of that too! 😁

Alright, enough with the begging for free bottles and back to the task at hand – the review. Let’s get into it!

Nose

On the nose we get a prominent aroma of buttered popcorn, grain, some straw and floral character.

Palate

The palate follows the nose rather closely as that buttery corn note shines through, but adds some floral and honey notes as well.

Finish

The finish is medium-long and adds more baking spice – particularly some cinnamon late in the finish and dissipates with a nice floral quality at the tail end.

Verdict

This bottle costs us $50 which is pretty standard for a craft offering. We were just as excited as the rest of the Castle & Key fans to get our hands on a bottle and see what it offered, and we weren’t disappointed with what they produced. It’s a nice, unique offering and we can only imagine it’s a result of having a mashbill that introduces more of that malted barley than what you typically see.

We believe it’s priced very close to its value at $45-$50 and we would recommend it as a ‘buy’ – especially if you’re a home bartender who is curious to see how the unique notes in this bottle work with your favorite whiskey cocktails.

Overall, we’re gonna award Castle & Key’s Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey Batch #5 a 7.6 out of 10. Cheers, Friends!

Do you own this bottle? Then surely you’ll want to add it to your inventory using our web app! It’s free to use. Sign up here to get a handle on that unruly home bar.

Cheers friends!