At Last! GWAR and Catoctin Creek Distilling Company Set Release Date For Ragnarök Rye on May 28

Iconic heavy metal band and Virginia distillery will release over 200 cases of highly rated intergalactic sippin’ whisky featuring collectable bottle toppers nationwide. Pre-order available now!

Catoctin Creek Distilling Co., The Virginia Rye Whisky ℠, 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 on this whisky with the legendary shock rock band GWAR would be troublesome, but we didn’t realize it would be this troublesome," said Catoctin Creek founder and general manager, Scott Harris. "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. (Who knew trolls have such great dental plans?)”

Mr. Harris continues, “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 this 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, Fred 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. ... This 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 catoctincreek.com/ragnarok.

About Catoctin Creek Distilling:

Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, The Virginia Rye Whisky ℠, was founded by Scott and Becky Harris in 2009. Inspired by the history and craft of Virginia, Catoctin Creek made a name for itself as the first legal distillery since Prohibition in Purcellville, Virginia’s Loudoun County. The craft distillery is home to Virginia’s most-awarded whisky, Roundstone Rye, which has been presented gold medals across the globe and stands out through its old-world production methods. Catoctin Creek prides itself on sourcing rye whisky, gin, and seasonal brandy from local grains and fruits, with spirits available in 29 states and 3 continents. The Harris’ intricate attention to detail results in high quality internationally acclaimed products, including seasonal releases and private cask offerings, that recognize the true craft of Virginia spirits. For more information, call (540) 751-8404 or visit CatoctinCreekDistilling.com. Follow Catoctin Creek on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Eons ago the members of the intergalactic shock rock band known as GWAR descended on this world as passengers on a flaming comet that would bring about the destruction of most life on Earth. The asteroid plowed into the continent of Antarctica with devastating force, melting the ice, setting much of the world ablaze, and leaving a massive crater filled with the purest Antarctic water and a strangely intoxicating ichor that flowed from the veins of the immortal GWAR. Legend recorded these events as the tale of Ragnarök, the end of days. But like all endings, it was also a beginning. Now, this blood of the gods, harvested from the great caldera, has been distilled and bottled by Catoctin Creek Distilling Company as Ragnarök Rye.

The mad scientists at Catoctin Creek conducted experiments on aging the blood of GWAR in barrels made from the different types of wood scorched by the comet's blast. They used the rarest of grains and watered their mash bill with the melted Antarctic ice to create a single 92 proof rye whisky, potstilled and then aged in charred new White Oak. Members of GWAR then hurl the whisky barrels into the orbit of the Moon, causing contraction to take place as the barrels spin under the influence of the deathly coldness of space and the life-giving heat of the sun. The end result is Ragnarök Rye, an exquisite beverage graced with notes of cherrywood and sugar maple to produce subtle flavors unheard of in a traditional rye whisky. Truly, there is nothing else in the vast universe like the rock band GWAR, and in tribute to the band's originality as the most elaborate, and transgressive theatrical production in heavy metal history, the distillers at Catoctin Creek have made sure there is nothing else like Ragnarök Rye.

“Ahh, such a powerful spirit. A delicious sacrament to drink in preparation for battle, and it’ll get you really, really crazy,” says The Berserker Blothar.

“We were quite surprised when GWAR showed up at our distillery,” said the exasperated founder and general manager, Scott Harris. “Purcellville is a quiet town, so to have these intergalactic visitors was—honestly—a little stressful. We had to constantly keep an eye on them to keep them from breaking stuff, and they even tried to eat our dog, Otto. The only way we could get them to leave was to agree to bottle their whisky for them.”

Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. X Rye Whisky (92 Proof/46% ABV) $99/750mL

About Catoctin Creek Distilling:

Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, The Virginia Rye Whisky ℠, was founded by Scott and Becky Harris in 2009. Inspired by the history and craft of Virginia, Catoctin Creek made a name for itself as the first legal distillery since Prohibition in Purcellville, Virginia’s Loudoun County. The craft distillery is home to Virginia’s most-awarded whisky, Roundstone Rye, which has been presented gold medals across the globe and stands out through its old-world production methods. Catoctin Creek prides itself on sourcing rye whisky, gin, and seasonal brandy from local grains and fruits, with spirits available in 27 states and 3 continents. The Harris’ intricate attention to detail results in high quality internationally acclaimed products, including seasonal releases and private cask offerings, that recognize the true craft of Virginia spirits. For more information, call (540) 751-8404 or visit CatoctinCreekDistilling.com. Follow Catoctin Creek on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

About GWAR:

The story of GWAR is carved across the history of this barren and hopeless planet, but GWAR themselves are not of this world. Their story begins in the deepest reaches of outer space. Long ago, the beings who would become the rock band GWAR were part of an elite fighting force, the Scumdogs of the Universe. For eons, they served as thralls to a supreme being known only as the Master. But one by one, each future member of the band earned a glaring reputation for being an intergalactic screw-up. And so, they were banished, sent away on a fool’s errand to conquer planet Earth. Once here, GWAR shaped the face of the globe, destroying and rebuilding the natural world, and giving rise to all human history. For more information, visit GWAR.net.

For More Info on GWAR Visit:

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