Today we are tasting WhistlePig Old World Rye, Straight Rye Whiskey. WhistlePig is a Vermont distillery, founded in 2007, that is most famous for its Ryes even though they do make some Bourbon and whiskey. This rye has been aged in oak and finished in wine casks. From their website “A Rye styled by Old World sensibilities at 86-proof. This whiskey is the marriage of three finishes, each with its own distinctive flavor profile. Also “The spirit is divvied into one of three barrels –Madeira (63%), Sauternes (30%) and Port (7%).” As stated before in other posts, we are on the fence when it comes to these finishing techniques. We have had both good and bad ones. We tend to believe that if a whiskey is good, it probably does not need to be finished this way. But we are also open to new ideas and tastes.
WhistlePig Old World Rye is 86 proof, aged 12 years, has a mash bill of 95% rye and 5% barley, sells for around $140, is pretty easy to find and comes in a nice looking corked bottle. The label also says it is hand bottled, not quite sure what that means.
As stated above, we are not always fans of finishing Bourbons and ryes, and we are not big fans of WhistlePig’s main expression, the 10-year-old rye. Having said that, the 10-year-old has a very big and devoted following. As to the term Old World Rye, we assume they are talking about the wine casks that they are finished in, all European wines, because we are pretty sure that is not how they used to make rye back in the day. Hell, we don’t believe they even made rye back then in Europe, but what do we know? Will this stuff change our option of WhistlePig and finishing techniques? Let’s hope so, this was a pricey bottle.
NOSE
Matt: Smells really smooth with new oak, rye, and a touch of fresh green vegetables. Not getting much more than that and ice doesn’t change it much.
Todd: Not a bad nose with rye, wood, nuts, and a scent that reminded me of the produce aisle. This is probably Matt’s green veggies.
TASTE
Matt: I really enjoy this with caramel, rye, oak, lemon, and leather. Ice brings out some mint and brown sugar. Very unique. Sadly, I bet I could pick out even more flavors if I hadn’t already had a few drinks.
TASTE
Todd: Fortunately, one of us has only had one drink before this one, and I really like this whiskey. Very smooth with flavors of rye, oak, grass, almonds, and a slight mustiness. I also thought ice brought out a little mint.
FINISH
Matt: Medium-short, pleasant with not much burn.
Todd: Medium long with some more rye and mint.
OVERALL
Matt: While the nose and finish were decent, the taste was outstanding, and isn’t that the main reason we buy it?
Todd: Agree, agree, I really liked the taste of this rye. I would definitely buy another bottle.
Nose 3.5 out of 5
Taste 9 out of 10
Finish 3.25 out of 5
Total score 15.75 out of 20 barrels.
Count Talking Bourbon as a fan of WhistlePig Old World Rye. Who cares how it is finished or the fact we don’t like the popular 10-year version, this is good stuff and worth the price. It has a very different but very good taste, sad to say but probably due to the extra aging, and that in itself is a reason to buy a bottle. We are always looking for something unique, especially one we really like.
In the end, it is a hefty price to pay for a bottle of rye, but if you can afford it, we recommend getting yourself some. Side note, we have seen it in the airplane bottle size, so maybe buy that first to make sure you like it, or just to save money.