WhistlePig PiggyBack r/Bourbon Single Barrel
Cost: $60 through Shared Pour via r/Bourbon
Age: 6 year
Proof: 106.5
Mash Bill: 100% rye
Reviewed neat in a Glencairn
Appearance: Reddish chestnut brown. Thin fast legs. Beads very well around the glass.
Nose: Brown sugar and maple syrup sweetness with a robust bouquet of baking spices like cinnamon, cardamom, anise, and clove. This has a really potent and inviting nose!
Palate: This is a pretty complex palate that takes you on a journey. It starts off with sweeter flavors like brown sugar, vanilla, honey suckle, and citrus on the front end, then bold spiciness on the back end like cinnamon and peppercorn, and a light barrel char note that weaves it all together. This has a pretty viscous mouth feel.
Finish: This is a mild finish but with a growing hug. While I didn’t pick up on a lot of herbal notes on the nose and palate, I get them now with the likes of chamomile and mint. The pepperiness carries through from the palate and is accompanied by a light leather note.
Rating: 7.4/10
Overall: PiggyBack has been on my list to get for a few years now and I’ve just passed on it for no reason other than other distractions. So when I saw the r/Bourbon offering of a PiggyBack single barrel selected by T8ke, I figured that was my sign to finally get my hands on a bottle. And I’m glad I did! This is a fantastic bottle, punching well above its weight class. For only $60 and a 6 year age statement, this bottle can go toe to toe with other rye whiskies (and bourbons for that matter) double it’s age and more than double it’s price (see my review of Orphan Barrel's Scarlet Shade). This is really complex with no offending flavors or anything overly harsh. That said, I like a good spice, and I do think this one is rather spicy. It almost makes it sip hotter than it actually is. This was the only thing that had me pull back on the rating a bit. But overall, this is a really nice rye whiskey that I would happily buy another bottle of. (BTW, it makes a killer Old Fashioned!)
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite
10 | Perfect | Perfect
Comments
Post a Comment