The Library Series: this Single Malt Shop exclusive offers as close to a guaranteed growth in value as you’ll get, based on provenance alone
The last time WhistlePig, the US whiskey maker, launched an 11-year-old rye, it grew in value some seven-fold in just two years, winning the title of Best Rye in the World as it did so. That value has kept growing since and today you’ll only find it on the upper shelves of auction rooms, such is the esteem it is held in the eyes of collectors worldwide.
That was a limited cask strength release, just like this bottling, but this very special whiskey comes with added poignancy. The casks for this new Library series were selected by the legendary Dave Pickerell, who was with WhistlePig since it started but who sadly died in 2018. His legacy remains with the distillery he loved and this series is a fitting tribute to the man who left his DNA on Makers Mark before pouring his life’s work into WhistlePig.
The Library Series
There will be five releases in the Library series, one per year over the next five years. Each cask’s release is designed to represent the very best of what the rye category has to offer. They will each have different age statements and flavour profiles and be released as they reach peak maturity, depending on each cask’s own journey. The Single Malt Shop will exclusively release each edition. By series end in 2026, these five bottles will represent one of the most exciting bottlings anywhere, bringing a distinct personality to any whisky collection.
Bottled at 56.9%, the first release in the Library Series is this Whistlepig 11 Single Barrel Rye. It will be the only cask strength release in the series and comes packed with complexity and flavour. Just 198 bottles of this fine rye whiskey was bottled from our cask, representing a true sense of rarity in a world of numbered distraction. Produced to celebrate the ultimate in aged rye whiskey, each annual edition comes in leather-bound encyclopedia-style packaging so that with every volume the collector will be building their own library.
Matured in virgin American oak, the cask was named Rutland, after a local Vermont township, and its whiskey emerged in the bottle with a warm and deep amber hue. On the nose you’ll find a delicate balance of sweet caramel and distinct mint notes. Molasses underpins layers of flavour, followed by smooth toffee. On the palate you can expect that traditional spice of rye with layers of cinnamon and toffee apples. Given its 56.9% ABV, you’ll find a drop of water opens it up beautifully, revealing more of its soft mint notes.
Traditional Origins
WhistlePig Farm and Distillery is based in New England, the six State region of the United States that crosses many borders and traditions. It’s a wonderfully suitable location for an operation that set out to redefine the identity of rye whiskey.
As a craft producer they are determined to innovate, while exploring the flavour profile and creative opportunities of rye whiskey. They consider rye to be a fiercely complicated grain to work with but claim they love it for its resilience and ability of the spirit it produces to respond to the different cask types they use in their finish. Sauterne, Madeira and Port are just some of the world flavours they have married with rye and the results have been heralded everywhere good whiskey is tested.
WhistlePig have a core range that includes Piggyback Rye, a six-year-old 100% rye bottled at 96.6% proof; Farmstock Rye, a non-age statement 86 proof rye, distilled from their own grain and matured in their own wood; a 12-, 15- and 18-year-old series, as well as the Boss Hog single barrel, barrel proof rye finished in rum casks.
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