WhistlePig FarmStock Rye (Farmhouse Batch)

First day of a 6.5 week holiday, four days before flying off to Europe. Time to start chasing down 300 tastes I guess. A share from my sister in law, and the second for me from Whistlepig. This blended WP is a mix of three straight ryes: (1) 15% Vermont rye aged 4 years in char 3 American oak, (2) 37% Vermont rye aged 6 years in char 4 American oak, and (3) 48% Canadian rye aged 6 years in char 3 American oak. N: Light and with a little acetone. Stewed-raisin, dusty oatmeal and an earthy something. P: Curiously juicy and rounded mouthfeel. Vanilla bourbonesque notes (barrel char presence and oak) with juicy pear and peach, lots of herbal menthol and spicy cardamon, clove and a little anise. Quite crisp but is quite overwhelming on the palate due to the heavy spice. F: Medium. Slightly astringent oak tannins and with a chocolate coated marzipan presence. Very evidently a blend with definite seperate threads. Perhaps this could have been good but it feels to cluttered. A rather conflicted mix of barrel char vanilla character, rye heavy spice and methol, and some harsh acetone presence struggle to mesh together into something balanced and well constrained. That surprises me, as it’s all rye, rye notes should mesh well with other rye notes. I suspect this would be a great and lively addition to a cocktail but as it stands it’s a little pedestrian but enjoyable enough. This is quite different to the WP 10 Small Batch Rye which gives an oily and leathery aspect and manages to balance things slightly better than this blended offering. Distiller whisky taste #201 Whistlepig running scores: WP 10 Year Small Batch Rye: 3.25/5 WP Farmhouse Rye Farmhouse Batch: 2.75/5

Nose reveals almost nothing, with little more than ethanol on first pass. Time in the glass cuts the ethanol and shows a little vanilla and an unspecific sweet aroma but not much else. Like sniffing an empty bag of halloween candy corn. In a blind nosing I would likely identify this as a house-favorite cheap bourbon like Evan Williams black label or Old Barton. It’s ok, but there’s just not much happening. Palate is better, but don’t start doing cartwheels just yet. Its sweet, there’s vanilla, there’s nutmeg, a hint of clove aaaaannd then it’s done. Finish is the first and only time I could say for certain this is a rye, with a surprising burst of sharp baking spices that arrives and immediately departs leaving almost no evidence that I had anything to drink. This is nothing like the 10yr Small Batch or various single barrel offerings, and even though it’s not as costly as those two, it is certainly not cheap. Try it in a bar if you must have it, but Old Forester Rye is a third of the price and twice as good, and will continue to be my house rye.

nose: fruity, gummy worms, pumpkin spice. not peach like the 12 yr body: smooth, small bite, sweet/fruit forward, spice on the end Gummy worms translate Pretty complex 1-2 with the sweet and juicy fruit compared to the burn with the finish. slight bitter/darker note twist on the end

Not as spicy as alot of ryes so i liked it. Almost a little sweet.

Very earthy and smooth. Fruity after taste. Great summer sipper.

Best Whistlepig I've had so far. Great old Fashioned