Catoctin Creek Hot Honey Rye Whiskey

Catoctin Creek Hot Honey Rye Whiskey is a 40% ABV (80 proof), 750mL Virginia rye whiskey — Catoctin Creek's pot-stilled 100% rye whisky blended with three types of local Virginia honey and an infusion of chile peppers for a sweet-heat finish. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.

• ABV: 40% (80 proof)
• Size: 750mL
• Style: Flavoured rye whiskey — "The Original Hot Honey Rye"
• Base whisky: Pot-stilled 100% rye whisky (the distillery's Roundstone Rye)
• Honeys: Three local Virginia honeys — wildflower, clover and buckwheat
• Heat: Infusion of chile peppers (habanero)
• Distillery: Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, Purcellville, Virginia
• Origin: Virginia, USA

Sweet First, Then the Zing

Catoctin Creek, the Purcellville distillery in Virginia's Loudoun County, calls this "The Original Hot Honey Rye" — and it guards the claim: no artificial flavourings, just its own pot-stilled 100% rye whisky and real honey. The recipe began as a 2022 Barrel Select offering that proved so popular the distillery made it a permanent line extension. Three Virginia honeys — floral wildflower, mild clover and dark, robust buckwheat — are blended for depth, and an infusion of habanero chiles brings the heat in behind the sweetness. Because the honey is real, it gives the whiskey a natural viscosity and mouthfeel most flavoured whiskeys fake. The distillery also puts its money where the bees are: $1 from every bottle sold goes to local and national organisations that help conserve bees, and the bottle took Gold at the 2025 First Landing Cup for Virginia spirits. Browse the Catoctin Creek collection and more rye whiskey at Del Mesa.

Tasting Notes

Real honey leads — dominant in aroma and flavour, floral and rich — over the distillery's rye spice and toasty cereal character. The palate is smooth and sweet with a pleasant, viscous weight, and just as you settle into the honey the peppers arrive with a surprising, delightful lift of heat: the distillery's own summary is "smooth and sweet, with a ZING!"

How to Enjoy

Sip it neat or over a large cube to feel the sweet-to-heat arc in full, or put it to work: it is a natural in a hot-honey Old Fashioned or Whiskey Sour, and a lively swap wherever a cocktail wants both sweetness and a slow chilli warmth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is hot honey rye? A rye whiskey blended with real honey and infused with chile peppers, so it drinks sweet first and finishes with a warm pepper heat. Catoctin Creek's version uses its pot-stilled 100% rye whisky, three Virginia honeys and habanero chiles.

Is Catoctin Creek Hot Honey Rye artificially flavoured? No — the distillery is explicit that it uses real, local Virginia honey (wildflower, clover and buckwheat) and a real chile pepper infusion, not artificial flavourings.

How spicy is Hot Honey Rye? The heat is a lift, not a burn — a "dash" of habanero in the distillery's words, arriving after the honey sweetness as a surprising, pleasant zing.

What proof is Catoctin Creek Hot Honey Rye? 80 proof (40% ABV), in a 750mL bottle.

Real Virginia honey, real rye, a real little kick — pick up Catoctin Creek Hot Honey Rye at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.