Whistlepig 10 Year Small Batch Rye

I’ll preface this with saying that I’m a big whistle pig fan. I’ve had several from unique barrels, but this standard rye is one I always want on my shelf. You can smell the rye warmth. The heat is not overbearing and mostly comes on late. I get clear flavors of s’mores and coffee. Undertones of vanilla and caramel throughout with a wonderful aftertaste!

Far too strong alcohol flavour for my taste.

I was excited to find a taster of this at Total Wine the other day. Usually these "premium" products don't debase themselves with miniatures. Those of you who've read my reviews know I'm not a huge fan of American Rye, but that I don't mind Canadian Rye, which makes up at least a portion of this blend. What shall we find? The nose is shy. Leans more in the Canadian direction than American. A bit dusty, some spice, vanilla and butterscotch. I stuck my nose all the way in the glass and other than a "screw you that's not how you nose whisky" burst of ethanol, I can't divine much else. On the palate, it enters smooth and gentle. The mid-palate has a burst of rye spice and some heat too. It does not drink like a 50 proof dram. Repeated tastes give off more of a coating mouthfeel, some tobacco, a puff of smoke, and the slightest hint of barrel bitter. I'm amazed at how smooth and approachable this dram is. There's some masterful blending going on here (this was a Dave Pickerel project [RIP], so I'm not surprised. I also wouldn't be surprised if there's whisky older than 10 years in this blend, which would certainly justify the high price for a bottle). The finish is quite long and luxurious, with some more caramel and butterscotch. A fine sipping rye, but I can also see it playing well in cocktails against more sour and bitter elements. So what to say. I want to give this a 4 based on the nosing and tasting, but the retails at around $80, which is about $40-$50 more than I'm willing to pay for rye, and I don't even like rye most of the time. This is a beautiful whisky, and I would not say no if someone offered it to me. There's some older Canadian Rye in here for sure with how easy this is to drink. Most rye's I drink fight back, even Lot 40 (which is a more complex AND more affordable rye IMO). If it weren't for the price, it would be 4, but factoring the exorbitant price, I'm gonna have to go 3.75. I know some of you who read are big rye fans, and should definitely seek this one out to sip. If you're more of a casual rye drinker, or a "fine, if I have to" rye drinker like me, then go for something more affordable like Lot 40 or Canadian Club 100% Rye. Cheers!

This is my first Rye after having some reserves about a Rye whiskey and this absolutely disappointed me because I was wrong. This is great. On the nose I get sweet sweet honey and a bit of caramelizedgreen apple. I know honey is sweet but, I had to exaggerate the sweet because of how amazingly sweet this is on the nose after my personal thoughts based on reviews on Rye whiskey. So on the taste I get a bit of ginger bread with of course spice and the spice definitely shows up on the finish and the finish is medium. Definitely be buying this again.

Very good slightly on the spicy side, but very solid!!!