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The Process
Boldness in a Bottle
When you uncork a bottle of WhistlePig, you should know what you're getting into: high rye mash bills, aged in exceptional finishing barrels, with depth of flavor you likely haven't experienced before.
Patience Makes Perfect
Rye whiskey is one of the most challenging whiskeys to make. It requires a delicate balance of ingredients and a skilled hand to bring out its complex flavor. The process begins with milling the rye grain. This is followed by mashing, which converts the starches in the grain into sugar. The next step is fermentation, during which yeast breaks down the sugars and produces alcohol. Finally, the whiskey is distilled to remove impurities and aged in oak barrels to impart flavor.
Each of these steps must be carefully monitored and adjusted to produce a world-class Rye whiskey. Fortunately, we have a team of expert distillers who are dedicated to crafting the perfect Rye whiskey. As a result, our Rye whiskey is consistently rated as one of the best in the world.
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It’s very fulfilling being able to taste whiskey you have mashed, fermented, distilled, barreled and tucked away for a few years -- no matter how good or bad -- it helps us hone our craft, leading to our award winning whiskey.
Embracing Nature's Complexity
Our signature barrels are our Vermont Oak Barrels made from trees harvested directly from our farm and the surrounding area. Vermont is about as far north as oak trees can grow. The cold climate means a shorter growing season, leading to oak trees with more growth rings. When aging whiskey encounters a growth ring in a barrel, it brings depth and complexity to the flavor, with mind-blowing results.
Our WhistlePig Vermont Estate Oak, Aged 15 Years is finished in these Vermont Oak Barrels, and is one of the highest rated Rye Whiskeys of all time.
Never Settle
After the release of our first round world cask finish ryes, WhistlePig Old World Rye, Aged 12 Years, we decided that no one finish was quite perfect. We took Aristotle's advice about making the whole greater than the sum of its parts, and dove headlong into the art of blending.
Our team of whiskey composers create symphonies of flavor at WhistlePig. These flavor soundtracks will do everything from calm your senses to rock and rolling your tastebuds.
With the combined talents of the best blenders and finishers in the game, we continue to experiment our way to some of the best whiskey in the world, combining the untamed contours and boldness of our whiskey with the rich splendor of our special reserves.
