Seven years or so after coming onto the market, WhistlePig finally has made some of their own whiskey. Since its founding, most of WhistlePig's product has been Canadian rye made at Alberta Distillers, though they have also bottled some MGP rye from Indiana. Farmstock, their newest product, includes both of these but also some Vermont rye, presumably made at their own farm distillery.WhistlePig's Farmstock whiskey is made up of 49% five year old Alberta rye, 31% 12 year old MGP rye and 20% one year old Vermont rye (and kudos to WhistlePig for disclosing all of this right on the label).
WhistlePig Farmstock Rye, Crop 001, 43% abv ($85)
The nose is typical WhistlePig and very nice, spicy with some pickle juice notes. The palate starts with some spice but very quickly turns bitter with raw wood notes which lead to a bitter finish.
This stuff is pretty bad. The nose has some nice qualities but the palate is flat and bitter like many craft whiskeys. If you are going to drink it, give it lots of air, which takes off some of the rougher edges.
Dear WhistlePig, if this is what your Vermont distillate tastes like, please go back to sourcing your whiskey.
Sincerely,
Sku
Big shock. Not. Overpriced, raw white dog-tasting whiskey is really easy to find these days. The club just got bigger, it appears.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the kudos though. Transparency convinces me to buy whiskey when I am on the fence. Veiled hype and stories with good marketing puts me off. Even if it sucks they are open, clear and this bottling can give them honest feedback about how to move it forward.
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