About the Distiller

Catoctin Creek is a family-run distillery in Purcellville, Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge. It was started in 2009 by Scott and Becky Harris and was Loudoun County's first legal distillery since before Prohibition. The name comes from the Catoctin Creek that runs through the area, and the word itself comes from the Algonquian "Kittoctin", meaning "place of many deer".

Becky Harris is the chief distiller, a chemical engineer by trade and one of the more recognised names in American craft whiskey. The whole operation runs out of a single building on Main Street in Purcellville, with two Vendome copper pot stills doing the work. Mash, ferment, distil and bottle, all under one roof.

Everything is made from 100% organic rye, mostly grown in Virginia. No corn, no wheat, no shortcuts. Just rye whiskey made the way it used to be made before bourbon took over the conversation.

The Range

The whiskey range is built around one mash bill: 100% organic Virginia rye, double distilled in copper pots. The difference across the range is age, proof and barrel.

History

Catoctin Creek was founded in 2009 by Scott and Becky Harris, who left careers in tech and engineering to set up a distillery in their home town of Purcellville. They were the first legal distillery in Loudoun County since the 1916 Virginia state prohibition, which came in four years before the federal ban.

The brand has grown carefully and on its own terms. It's now sold across most of the US and exported into Europe, but the still house, the team and the whiskey itself have stayed in Purcellville. Becky has picked up most of the major awards going in American craft whiskey and is regularly cited as one of the leading women in the industry.

Through it all, the family hasn't sold up, watered down, or moved production out. Same town, same building, same stills.

What Makes Catoctin Creek Different

The big thing is that they're doing proper pre-Prohibition style rye at full quality, not as a marketing line. 100% rye mash bill, organic grain, copper pot distilled, aged in new charred American oak. That combination is rare anywhere, and almost unheard of at the scale they're working at.

Add to that:

• 100% organic rye, mostly grown in Virginia
• Certified organic and certified kosher across the whiskey range
• Distilled and aged in Purcellville, Virginia, not sourced
• Two Vendome copper pot stills, double distilled
• Female-led distilling team, with Becky Harris as chief distiller
• Family-owned and operated since day one

If you've worked your way through Kentucky bourbon and want to see what proper Virginia rye tastes like when it's made the old way, Catoctin Creek is one of the names that always comes up.

How They Make It

The process is traditional from start to finish, and it doesn't change much from one bottle to the next.

• Grain: 100% organic rye, mostly grown in Virginia
• Mashing: Cooked and mashed in-house at the Purcellville distillery
• Fermentation: On-grain fermentation in stainless steel
• Distillation: Double distilled in two Vendome copper pot stills
• Additives: None, at any stage
• Barrels: New charred American oak, full-size barrels
• Aging: Roundstone Rye is aged for several years in the warehouse on site, with cask proof and Distiller's Edition releases held longer

Old methods, honest ingredients, no shortcuts. That's the whole point.

Brand Snapshot