WhistlePig PiggyBack 6YO Rye Whiskey /48,28%/ – The WhistlePig brand is a brainchild of Raj Peter Bhakta, investment banker and entrepreneur, and Dave Pickerell († 2018), former master distiller at Maker’s Mark. The original batch was released in 2010 and earned phenomenal reviews. The whisky, 100% rye, was sourced from Jim Beam owned Alberta Distillery in Canada and bottled in Vermont on WhistlePig farm. In the fall of 2015, a distilling equipment has been installed at WhistlePig farm; the company also grows hundreds of acres of rye on the farm to be used for whiskey production. WhistlePig PiggyBack is distilled in pot still from 100% rye and aged in charred American oak barrels for six years. The whiskey scored Double Gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The same year, WhistlePig sold a minority stake to Moët Hennessy.
Nose: fresh rye bread, black peppercorn, cinnamon, baked apples, grapefruits, bitter oranges, vanilla, hints of hay and oa
Palate: buttered rye toast, vanilla, caramel, lemon peel, cocoa, cardamom, black pepper, lemon grass, touch of fresh dill, leather and oak.
Finish: fairly long, with notes of vanilla, caramel, rye bread, pepper, cinnamon, dried herbs and oak.
