WhistlePig Rye Review

A few weeks ago I wrote a rather rave review of WhistlePig’s Boss Hog. Boss Hog is the heavy duty version of WhistlePig’s standard rye which is a little younger at 10 years and proofed down from cask strength to 50% ABV. For a quick recap, WhistlePig is a 100% straight rye whiskey sourced from Alberta Distillers in Calgary but bourbon barrel finished and bottled at WhistlePig Farm in Vermont. I was a huge fan of the Boss Hog so it would stand to reason I’ll be a fan of the standard rye as well, right? Let’s find out.

Aged 10 years; 50% ABV; $80

Notes: The nose is what you would expect from a 10 year old rye: sweet and spice. I am surprised by the amount of vanilla on the nose given the high rye content here so I would say the scents are very balanced. It smells a bit like an MGPI rye with some of the familiar mint/dill pickle notes those are known for. The taste mirrors the nose in many ways: sweet honey, vanilla, and banana up front; anise, menthol, and mint in the middle; dry oak and lots more spice through to the finish. The back of the palate is where this really shines as all the lush sweet wood sugars, prickly spice, and dry oak come together to run the gamut across the whiskey flavor wheel.

Thoughts: This is a good rye whiskey. It has a nice balance of sweet and spicy with a respectable amount of complexity. With my proclivity for bolder whiskey though I don’t find it nearly as exciting as the Boss Hog. It is a fine example of a well done straight rye but I don’t find it very craveable. It took me almost a year to go through this bottle because I was constantly reaching over it for other things. Additionally, like Boss Hog my biggest negative on this is the price which will probably prevent me from buying it again. Having said that, it is unique with nothing like it readily available right now so if you want to try something different this is worth buying at least once.

Rating: B