North Carolina’s Southern Distilling Company has reignited a rich whiskey tradition, launching Hunting Creek Straight Rye Whiskey.
Hunting Creek is a bottled-in-bond release that commemorates a rye whiskey sold at the turn of the last century.
A statement from Southern Distilling founders Pete and Vienna Barger said the team looks to introduce more whiskey enthusiasts to North Carolina’s distilling legacy in Hunting Creek Straight Rye as it debuts this spring.
“Since we founded Southern Distilling Company in 2013, our goal has always been to highlight the state’s long, and sometimes overlooked, history in whiskey making,” Pete said. “The original Celebrated Old Hunting Creek Rye Whiskey was shipped across our early nation using Statesville’s rail lines before being lost to Prohibition.”
The duo first distilled and barreled this product in 2018, and now they are sharing it, and the story behind it, with whiskey lovers.
The Bargers explained that in the late 1800s, scores of federally licensed farm distilleries surrounded the Statesville region in North Carolina, and they supported the major rectification companies that were shipping spirits out on the rail lines along the East Coast.
Prohibition hit Statesville early in 1903, shutting down the robust industry, they explained. But the spirit lived on.
Inspired by the heritage, tradition, and ingenuity of Statesville, Southern Distilling Company obtained the Hunting Creek trademark and set out to restore this piece of local heritage.
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Hunting Creek Straight Rye Whiskey bottled-in-bond release is distilled in Statesville with a mash bill of 51% rye, 39% corn, and 10% malted barley. It clocks in at 100 proof and is aged a minimum of four years.
The distiller’s notes show this deep amber whiskey to have aromas and flavors of baking spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, with hints of dark fruit like black cherry and blackberry. There’s a subtle sweetness from caramel to vanilla, and a spicy kick that lingers throughout.
Southern Distilling Company’s Hunting Creek Straight Rye Whiskey is available at ABC stores across North Carolina, and bottles from this release can also be purchased at the distillery. It has a suggested retail price of $49.95.
For more information, check out www.southerndistillingcompany.com.
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