WhistlePig Old World Cask Finish 12YO

WhistlePig Old World Cask Finish 12 Year Old

Distilled in Canada before being finished in a combination of madeira, sauternes and port casks at WhistlePig distillery in Vermont.

WhistlePig Distillery has made the Rye whiskey category its own. Using sourced whisky that was distilled in Canada and then finished at the WhistlePig farm distillery in Vermont, it has become a category leader that grabs attention everywhere that it’s poured.

The distillery team has created its distinctive flavour with a unique character, all undertaken as a grand experiment in American craft distilling.

The WhistlePig Old World Cask Finish delivers its own distinctive flavour. The Old World finish delivers unique character using a series of old-world cask ageing that includes three barrels – Madeira, port pipes, and sauternes. The 12-year-old whiskey is finished in each of these casks and then vatted together to produce this blended first rye whiskey.

In this 12-year-old blend, the Madeira casks represent 63% of the bottling and consequently dominate the flavour profile. The sauternes casks are next, contributing 30% of the flavour profile, while the port comes in with 7% of the volume of the bottle.

The rye was matured for a full 12 years in new American oak and this delivered a rye spice and flavour profile all of its own. The combined outcome is a terrifically complex pour with tons of flavour that fight for a lead role in this fascinating bottling. This is a straight rye whiskey but with a superb Vermont and European twist.

The European wines pour lots of their own distinctive flavor profiles into the bottle: Dark chocolate, winter fruit, raisins, peach, and cherries. It’s a wonderful mix of the old world.

WhistlePig 12-year-old is a decadent whiskey with a complex nature and not one to hand out casually. The final whiskey is a terrific example of experimentation within the rye category and by the WhistlePig team in particular.