Ok. I will admit that as a Whistle Pig fan and a car guy I was suckered into this one as soon as I heard the story. Gimmicky? Sure. Do I care? Nope! Was glad to find a bottle in time for the annual Dream Cruise to share with family. Let's start the engines.... Nose is definitely unusual for a WP dram. Very little Rye notes and lots of fruit forward hints. This defintely has the nose of a sherry finished Irish Whiskey instead of an American Rye thanks to those Bordeaux blend barrels. First sip is unlike any WP I have had. The Bordeaux finish is all over this one. I am going to be honest and say this doesn't even taste like a Rye. There are some really tasty red fruit notes on the front end that open into a peppery burn in the middle. The heat stays fairly soft before fading to a boozy raisin finish. This one is pretty crazy. The notes are almost like a blended Scotch, but without those almond notes. The pepper in the middle reminds you this is an American dram. Overall this is nowhere near the best WP I have ever had, but it gets marks for creativity and novelty. I will probably try to find a backup on this one just because it's damn cool. I can't give it a stellar score as it just isn't that fantastic, but I know you want one of these bottles complete with a tire shaped stopper so grab one if you see it! You may not thank me for the flavor, but you will when your car buddies see this bad boy on the mantle!
About this bottle
RoadStock Rye is a road trip-aged whiskey. A portion of the whiskey was transferred into Jordan Winery Bordeaux blend casks—78% Cabernet, 12% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec—and finished during a 6,000 mile trip on a "RoadStock Rolling Rickhouse" to and from Paso Robles, CA. Meanwhile, on the CA side, the remainder of the whiskey was put into Firestone Walker Brewery Imperial Stout, Imperial Blonde Ale and Experimental Ale barrels before heading back to Vermont on a RoadStock Dodge Hellcat (fueled by a custom fuel blend made at VP Racing Fuels). The resulting rye whiskey is bottled at 86 proof and available as of July, 2021.
How it tastes
Measured across 14 flavor axes. Tap a note to find other bottles that lead with it.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 11 parsed reviews.
I'm a fan! It's a unique whiskey with a unique story, and a lot of unique flavor layers. You definitely notice the wine and beer notes from the finishing barrels, the latter lingering on the palate through the entire finish. But what is lacking are your typical aggressive rye notes. It's an easy drinking friendly rye, which takes your taste buds on an unexpected adventure which is worthy of the cross-country backstory. If you like something different and interesting, definitely give this one a shot!
I love whistle pig and I love the story of this whiskey. Very pale in color. It has the consistent wheat and rye flavoring that I love. Not as much heat as I would expect. I get some of the fruitiness from the wine barrel and some late licorice as well. Very diverse flavor profile, but it does to be at competition with itself.
Given the story and marketing for this limited edition rye, it's surprising you can still find it on the shelf. It's good, really good. Like eating a toasted rye raisen loaf slathered in butter that also had some wine spilled on it. I'll be stocking up on this unique flavor profile.
Get a fruity smell off the nose, must be from the wine barrels this is cask in. Get a caramel taste on the tongue but the after taste left is less than to be desired. First RYE I have had in a while, so maybe it might take my taste buds a bit more time to get used to.
Huge WP fan but this misses the mark. Super thin. Interesting story about the blend and road trip, bit not mentioned anywhere on the bottle. Only going to appeal to WP fans and people who know the back story not your average whiskey drinker
5 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
Tastes like this
Closest flavor profiles across the whole catalog.
