Whistlepig ‘PiggyBack’ 6 Year OId 100% Rye Whiskey 700ml 45%

Small batch, pot distilled & aged in American oak barrels.

Details
700ml: 45% alc – 90 Proof
Age: 6-year-old
Region: Vermont, USA
Cask type: American Oak
Bottled By: WhistlePig
Type: 100% Rye
First released: 2019

Description
In the summer of 2018, the late distiller, Dave Pickerell and master blender Pete Lynch, returned to WhistlePig’s warehouses to realise their dream of creating the best aged rye whiskey for sipping and for your cocktail and hence PiggyBack was born. It was then launched in select US markets in 2019 as a permanent addition to the WhistlePig core range. It would be known as the final product Dave Pickerell created for the company before his passing.

There have been a few versions of the Piggy Back Rye, some finished in various barrels, others bottled at a higher ABV. This ‘general release’ for Australia is the latest version of PiggyBack and is still a 100% rye whisky full of spice and flavour, aged six years for unprecedented complexity, and bottled at distillers’ strength of 45% ABV. The shape of the bottle is a departure from the standard WhistlePig broader shape to make the bottle more manoeuvrable for bartenders.

An interesting observation is the pig that graces the front label is not wearing the standard WhistlePig top hat, but rather a Stetson hat in honour of Dave Pickerell’s favourite head-ware.

WhistlePig comments;
“We think anything worth doing is worth doing 100%… where most whiskey makers stick to the minimum 51% Rye, we are committed to long aging and countless barrel experiments that have led to the first 100% Rye perfected for sipping and mixing. Our Rye aged for six years taught us that it doesn’t take long to arrive at perfection. With a mashbill of 100% Rye to capture a 100% bold, spice flavour profile”