Whistlepig 10 Year Small Batch Rye

Long finish.

Light copper / bronze in color N - Honey, caramel, burnt sugar, apple P - excellent mouth feel, rye bread, spices, F - rye spice with a hint of caramel

Nose: Freshly sawn planks, a little white pepper, vanilla, bright aromatic spices (peppermint, anise, clove, cinnamon) and some citrus. Palate: Slightly dusty, semi-sweet arrival. Pears, pineapple, vanilla but there is minimal development. The texture is curiously thin and there is no depth to the palate. Finish: Medium but abrupt. It lingers for a moment then suddenly runs out of energy and vanishes into a very mild salted lemon aftertaste. Nothing to write home about. This has a simple profile with the usual rye aromas and flavours but it leans a little more than usual towards a citrus personality. The main problem is how thin and shallow this spirit is. There is no mouth-feel at all when it is neat and the palate dissolves quickly into featureless brine. Surprisingly, water improves it. I thought it would drown easily but a small dash brought out softness, some much-need texture and more rounded aromas, with a little red berry showing up. It does not seem tight when neat, just weak, but it blooms with dilution. It’s clean, well-made and very easy to drink but this sort of whisky does nothing for me and at the shocking local price of AUD$125 a bottle I would not recommend it. “Adequate” : 73/100 (2.25 stars)