Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. of Purcellville, Virginia, was excited to partner with GWAR to release their infamous Ragnarök Rye this past February … but then the monster metal rock band drank it … all of it.
“We knew working with GWAR on this whisky would be troublesome, but we didn’t realize it would be this troublesome,” said Catoctin Creek founder and general manager, Scott Harris, in a press release. “Usually, we have the production process under control, but this time the band members drank everything we distilled, and then demanded we create bottle toppers using rare metal ore sourced from the fillings of trolls,” continues Harris. “I knew our original schedule was shot. I mean, it’s really cool to have rare metal in our bottle design, but it was hard rounding up all those trolls.”
Aged in charred new white oak, then sugar maple and cherrywood, each bottle of Catoctin Creek’s 92-proof intergalactic rye whisky comes with a cast-metal collectable bottle topper featuring each of the five members of GWAR: Blóthar the Berserker; Balsac the Jaws of Death; Jizmak da Gusha; Beefcake the Mighty; and Pustulus Maximus.
Thrilled with the release, lead singer Blóthar the Berserker offered his enthusiastic endorsement, “If whisky is liquid sunshine, this rye is a scorching alien sun.”
Recently GWAR linked up with whiskey and spirits connoisseur Fred Minnick for an exclusive virtual tasting and review of the Ragnarök Rye. From the review, Minnick states, “Well done. This is a great edition to the rye whiskey scene. I think that this is one of the best tastes I’ve had from Catoctin Creek … it is very good.” Check out his full review here.
Up to 200 cases of Ragnarök Rye (92 proof/46% ABV) $99/750mL will be available throughout Catoctin Creek’s national distribution footprint beginning Friday, May 28, with more on the way soon. It will also be on sale in the distillery’s online store for curbside pickup or direct shipping in Virginia only. Pre-sale orders can be purchased through Seelbachs.com. Catoctin Creek Rye Society members may contact the distillery to obtain a bottle any time before the release date. For more information, video content, or merchandise, visit Gwar.net and CatoctinCreekDistlling.com/Ragnarok.
Catoctin Creek Distilling’s distribution footprint includes the following 29 markets in the United States: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming, and internationally in Finland, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom.