Whislepig Whiskey

WhistlePig is the clearest case study in modern American whiskey of a brand that started by buying and ended by building. It launched in 2010 out of a farm in Shoreham, Vermont with sourced rye — very good sourced rye, finished and blended with real intent — while it planted grain, put up a distillery and waited. Today the range spans both eras: blended and finished whiskeys alongside estate-distilled bottles made from rye grown on the farm and aged in barrels coopered from Vermont oak. If you want the short version of why that distinction matters on a back label, read our sourced vs. distilled bourbon guide.

What holds the range together is rye — usually a lot of it, usually at high proof, usually finished in something unusual. WhistlePig is not a subtle house style, and that is the appeal.

Where to start

WhistlePig Rye Whiskey Piglets ($34.09) is the entry point and the smartest one: a set of miniatures that lets you taste across the range before committing to a full bottle. WhistlePig 6 Year Piggyback Bourbon Whiskey ($59.99) is the everyday bottle — six years old, built for cocktails, and the one to keep next to the ice. It makes a serious Manhattan; method in our Manhattan guide.

WhistlePig 10 Year Rye American Whiskey ($79.99) is the flagship — ten years old at 100 proof, all baking spice, dark caramel and orchard fruit, and the bottle most people mean when they say "WhistlePig." For something further off the map, WhistlePig X Liquid Death Gravestock Wheat Whiskey ($69.99) is a wheat whiskey made in collaboration with a canned-water company, which sounds like a gimmick and drinks like a soft, sweet counterweight to the rest of the shelf.

The serious end

WhistlePig Snout to Tail 10 Years Old Toasted Straight Bourbon ($78.99) is a toasted straight bourbon rather than a rye — a useful reminder that the house does both. WhistlePig 15 Year Estate Oak Rye Whiskey ($199.99) is finished in barrels made from oak grown on the Vermont farm, which is about as literal an expression of terroir as American whiskey gets, and Whistlepig 18-Year-Old Double Malt Straight Rye Whiskey ($374.99) is the range's most refined bottle: a double malt rye with two decades of polish on it.

At the top sits the Boss Hog series, released annually with a new theme, a new finish and a new brass pig on the cap. WhistlePig The Boss Hog XII Feather & Flame ($599.99) is the current release in stock. These are collector bottles, priced accordingly, and they sell out.

Related collections

If you are working through rye more broadly, the Whiskey collection is the main room and the Bourbon collection covers the corn-forward side. Best Sellers shows what is actually moving, and New Arrivals is where the next Boss Hog and the autumn limited releases will appear.

Please drink responsibly. You must be 21 or older to purchase.