WhistlePig Old World Cask Finish Rye 12 Year

First - the Distiller website may have an error, or Whistlepig has evolved. The 12 yr bottle I have says on the back and the front that the whiskey inside is from Canada. Presumably Alberta distillers. Distiller says it is MGP - this is not true, at least for my bottle. It may be that the newer bottles are from Alberta. Either way, I think the Alberta flavor profile is much better than the MGP 95/5 so I am grateful. I got this bottle as a gift from my brother-in-law as a generous gift. Gifting me whiskey is a hard task - but this is a hit. It is a bottle that I had never had and would never buy on my own. The nose has the classic canadian rye profile: more fruit than spice, with grape soda/cola/jolly rancher flavors abounding. It is notably more fruity and sweet than other Canadian ryes I have had, so I attribute that to the wine cask finish. The palate turns a touch more spicy and earthy, but clearly not a pepper/dill that many american ryes tend to have. It's again more of a root beer/cola profile: sweet, almost syrupy, and complex. The finish is pretty short, but some of the jolly rancher/sugar raisin flavor does linger. This is a really solid bottle - however, to me, the cost is prohibitive. Single barrel selections of their 10 year offering can be up to 15-17 year old Alberta juice, bottled at cask strength, for about 30 bucks less. Sure, it doesn't have the wine cask finish - tasting the two side-by-side, the 12 is noticeably sweeter and fruitier. If money was no object, I would buy it especially to keep on hand for newer whiskey drinkers. It is lower proof, sweet, complex, and an excellent intro to Canadian rye. A similar profile would be low proof, low rye content mashbill ryes. With a fruity side, JD rye comes to mind, but that has more barrel influence. Michter's rye would be a good comparison, but does miss on some of the fruit. Barrell does offer a lot of Alberta rye products at barrel proof - Barrell Seagrass is pretty similar on the nose, overall much better and cheaper, but clocks in at higher proofs. I guess I'm trying to say: good, but too expensive to earn a 'buy' recommendation.

Nose: Cordial-like aroma (cherry cola). Sweet, earthy, fruity notes (peach and red berries). Brown sugar, vanilla and a hint of preserved ginger. The nose enlarges as it rests. Palate: Very sweet and easy arrival. Brown sugar appears again together with just a little baking spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves). Lots of sweet fruit and more spices come through in the development. Raisin scones, Christmas cake and there is a menthol/peppermint note, which is de rigueur for a rye. The texture is good but not remarkable. Finish: Medium/long. Sweet and grainy with lingering faint spice. A touch of wintergreen in the aftertaste. This is softer and more interesting than Whistlepig 10. It’s surprising how much difference just two years plus a relatively intense wine finishing can make. I thought the 10 year old was pretty ho-hum but this is a much more accomplished effort and it’s the sauternes and fortified red combination that makes it. Water makes the nose a little dusty but does not spoil it, however it significantly amplifies the minty notes on the palate to the point where it loses balance. I preferred this one neat. This seems to be around $120 in the U.S., is that correct? Remarkably, we pay less than that here (around AUD$150) and it must be the only US spirit for which that can be said. I’m not sure I’d pay that much anyway, but then I’m not really a rye enthusiast, however this is a good whiskey. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Its been a long time since i last reviewed an american whiskey. And i guess the best way to get this reviews back is having a very hard to find one, specially in my country Ecuador. Whistlepig is a synonym for great american whiskies, and this one called "Old World Rye" is a 12yo offering; and the great part is that the spirit was divided into three barrels –Madeira (63%), Sauternes (30%) and Port (7%) for its maturation. Bottled at 46%abv On the nose, this smells good!. Cherries, glazed pork; port wine & herbal spiciness. Gooseberries. After a couple if sips the aroma gave me notes of a greasy BBQ, red chilli and maraschino cherries. On the palate, you can actually tell this is a fancy rye whiskey. Red fruits & herbal spiciness. The red fruits are imcredible here because it has a full spicy profile mix to them. Aftertaste was amazing as well. Balsamic oil; red fruits maramalade and pepper. Red chilli. Overall, this was truly a lovely dram. I had the chance to taste it in a very fancy restaurant in Cuenca, Ecuador; which made things even greater, since you wouldn't normally expect to find such a rarity in the ecuadorian highlands. My score for this beauty is a solid 92 over 100.

An elegant, Rye Whiskey by master distiller Dave Pickerell for WhistlePig Distillery in Vermont aged for a minimum of 12 years in new American oak casks, then finish in 63% Madeira, 30% French Sauternes & 7% Port casks. It has an aromatic birth with notes of Sponge cake topped with buttercream icing, chocolate chip cookies, vanilla, English toffee & a hint of oak; while a spicy life adds notes of Rye, red berries, raspberry, raisin, cherry, stone fruits, orange-blossom honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, rancio & a hint of anise; that led to a long & bold death with notes of honeyed cereal, white wine, mint leaf, dark chocolate & caramel. November 2020 / August / October 2022

Oak & leather with a hint tobacco, very smooth very rich in taste, absolutely a lasting but not a harsh finish. You can taste all the notes it's definitely been taken care of of & absolutely a pleasure of a experience. Mild hints of herbs like sage & thyme & rosemary. Absolutely one if hands down favorite

Nose - Rich, cherry plum Taste- a little lighter than expected from the nose. Dry, spicy, a little dill mild sweet and bitter then heat. After-bitter head fades quickly This might be close to the bottom of the bottle but I expect a 12 yr to have more. Still good though.