WhistlePig RoadStock Rye

I love whistle pig and I love the story of this whiskey. Very pale in color. It has the consistent wheat and rye flavoring that I love. Not as much heat as I would expect. I get some of the fruitiness from the wine barrel and some late licorice as well. Very diverse flavor profile, but it does to be at competition with itself.

Very different from the normal Whistlepig rye. Almost none of the rye bite but still well balanced and has a mighty tasty flavor. Becoming one of my favorites.

Ok. I will admit that as a Whistle Pig fan and a car guy I was suckered into this one as soon as I heard the story. Gimmicky? Sure. Do I care? Nope! Was glad to find a bottle in time for the annual Dream Cruise to share with family. Let's start the engines.... Nose is definitely unusual for a WP dram. Very little Rye notes and lots of fruit forward hints. This defintely has the nose of a sherry finished Irish Whiskey instead of an American Rye thanks to those Bordeaux blend barrels. First sip is unlike any WP I have had. The Bordeaux finish is all over this one. I am going to be honest and say this doesn't even taste like a Rye. There are some really tasty red fruit notes on the front end that open into a peppery burn in the middle. The heat stays fairly soft before fading to a boozy raisin finish. This one is pretty crazy. The notes are almost like a blended Scotch, but without those almond notes. The pepper in the middle reminds you this is an American dram. Overall this is nowhere near the best WP I have ever had, but it gets marks for creativity and novelty. I will probably try to find a backup on this one just because it's damn cool. I can't give it a stellar score as it just isn't that fantastic, but I know you want one of these bottles complete with a tire shaped stopper so grab one if you see it! You may not thank me for the flavor, but you will when your car buddies see this bad boy on the mantle!

I am a fan of WhistlePig in general. The 10 and 12 yr barrel picks can be outstanding and often more than justify their steep price point. Here we have something a little experimental. They take their Farmstock Rye and dump it in multiple Firestone Walker Beer Barrels and a Jordan Winery Red Blend barrel. They then contract large 18 wheeler trucks in "moving Rickhouses" driving coast to coast on Route 66 to finish this Rye. The final product is bottled at a tame 86 proof with a great label and rubber tire stopper to boot! The SRP is $75 with NAS. Let's dive into the tasting... Entry is light with spice and caramel .... Some orange peel and tart grape notes.... A bit of rye spice, bitter oak and more fruit notes all hit at the same time with a short finish. Its a bit of a cluster to be honest. Very disjointed. The problem here is WhistlePig are charging a premium for a backstory. The end product is disjointed and honestly unbecoming of the brand. We can excuse the Farmstock releases (which while not great are better than this release) as they are a journey for their new make coming of age (and priced a lot less). However, you can't put out a "special release" for $75 with haphazard finishing and a backstory and expect postive results. But hey, the label and rubber tire stopper are dope! I strongly recommend you try a pour and dont buy this blind.

Huge WP fan but this misses the mark. Super thin. Interesting story about the blend and road trip, bit not mentioned anywhere on the bottle. Only going to appeal to WP fans and people who know the back story not your average whiskey drinker