American Whiskey Review #31: WhistlePig 10 Year Store Pick for Proof

Distillery: ?

Bottler: WhistlePig

Region: ?

Barrel Number: 2943 from Warehouse #2, Rick A, Level 1

Price: $9.75 for a 1oz pour during Happy Hour at Proof in Omaha.

ABV: 53.2%

Age: 10 Year

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

Nose: Lots of caramel popcorn (though maybe that’s just because the wife has been eating a lot of it lately) and some rye baking spices are what I picked up.

Palate: There’s a lot of spice in this. The characteristic baking spices of a rye whiskey come out very strong in clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Towards the back, there’s a cool tone of mint as well. With a bit of water, the mint note gets stronger and a bit of caramel comes out.

Finish: Medium in length. Even more spices are here in the form of star anise and Chinese allspice. There’s a bit of mint as well.

Conclusion: If I had to pick out the textbook definition of a well-made rye whiskey, I think this might be it. It’s packed full of the baking spices you expect out of a rye and manages to go beyond the usual suspects and adds in a cooling mint along with star anise and allspice. With a bit of water, this whiskey is able to open up a bit and achieve some balance with a bit of caramel coming through. Fantastic job by Joel and his folks over at Proof on picking this!

Final Score: 81.

American Whiskey Review #31, Rye Whisky Review #6, Whisky Network Review #219

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.