WhistlePig

Interior of WhistlePig's tasting room in Quechee, Vermont

WhistlePig's distillery is in Shoreham, Vermont. It is not open to the public. It has two pot stills, each 750 US gallons (2,800 l; 620 imp gal) in volume.[2]

The property includes a 500-acre (200 ha) farm.[3] The land was formerly a dairy farm, about 150 years old.[2] 300 of those acres are dedicated to growing rye grain, 200 holds maple trees for making syrup, while the remainder is used for corn, barley, oak trees, and space for livestock: pigs, sheep, goats, horses, and bees. [3][4]

Two Kunekune pigs are kept on property, Mortimer Junior and Orwell, both of the second generation of pigs kept on-site.[5] The first generation, Mortimer and Mauve, died in 2014 and 2018. Their cremated remains are held in a granite obelisk memorial on the farm property, and the distillery's two stills are named for them. The brand's logo reflects these pigs with a design of a plump grinning pig, donning a top hat and bow tie.[2]

WhistlePig's lead distiller is Emily Harrison and its chief blender is Meghan Ireland. The two notably hold positions in an industry often dominated by men.[2] Dave Pickerell was the master distiller, who introduced the company to its initial stock of Canadian whiskey, helped design the company's first blend, and designed its first pot still.[4]

The company operates tasting rooms in Quechee, Vermont, and "the WhistlePig Pavilion" at Stowe Mountain Resort. It formerly operated tasting rooms at the distillery and in Waterbury Center, Vermont.[4] The Quechee tasting room, a "whiskey parlor", opened in 2021. It involved WhistlePig and Simon Pearce purchasing the former Parker House tavern, with the tasting room opening soon after the purchase, and plans for a restaurant are still in development.[6]

PiggyBack Rye bottle

Notable products include:[7]

• PiggyBack Rye, a 6-year-aged rye made for mixing in cocktails. It was designed with elements to honor Dave Pickerell, as it was his last product made before his death.[2] It was WhistlePig's first rye made with 100 percent rye grains.[4]
• Farmstock Rye, a blend of three different whiskeys: 6-year Canadian, 10-year Canadian, and rye made on-site.[2] First released in 2017, it was the first WhistlePig product primarily made from whiskey made on-site, and used wood barrels and water from the property.[4]
• 10-year "Small Batch", the first product released by the company.[4]
• 12-year "Old World Cask Finish", finished in Port, Sauturnes, and Madeira barrels.[2]
• 15-year "Estate Oak Rye", aged for 15 years in new American oak, with up to a year aging in oak barrels made with oak grown on-site[2]
• 18-year "Double Malt Rye", made in several editions. The second edition bottles came with stoppers made by Simon Pearce.[6]
• The Boss Hog, a single-barrel, barrel-strength rye released every year in a new numerical edition.[5][4]
  • The first edition, labeled "The Boss Hog"
  • The second edition, labeled "The Spirit of Mortimer"
  • The third edition, labeled "The Independent"
  • The fourth edition, "The Black Prince"
  • The fifth edition, "The Spirit of Mauve"
  • The sixth edition, labeled "六: The Samurai Scientist", was a collaboration with Kitaya Sake Brewery in Japan. It was reportedly the first American whiskey finished using Japanese umeshu.[4]
  • The seventh edition, "Magellan's Atlantic", was aged in Spanish oak and finished in South American teak, tracking Magellan's journey from Spain to South America.[2]
  • The eighth edition, "LapuLapu's Pacific"

Given the years necessary to age whiskey, a portion of WhistlePig's whiskey is outsourced. Suppliers include MGP of Indiana and the Alberta Premium distillery owned by Fortune Brands in Alberta, Canada. The company instead focuses on barrel-aging and finishing for these products.[3]

Entrepreneur Raj Bhakta founded the WhistlePig brand of rye whiskey. The name allegedly stems from Bhakta passing a hiker in Colorado in 2003, who told him to watch out for a whistle pig (groundhog). Bhakta never spotted the groundhog, though liked the whimsical name the hiker used, and named the WhistlePig brand after it.[3][2]

It was initially launched as a non-distiller producer that bottled a stock of 10-year-old Canadian whiskey from the Alberta Premium distillery owned by Fortune Brands in Alberta, Canada.[8][4] Starting in 2007, Bhakta purchased land in Shoreham, Vermont, on which he built a new distillery and aging facility for the brand.[9] The brand was officially launched in 2010.[8] WhistlePig hired master distiller Dave Pickerell to source its first whiskey. Bottling began in Shoreham in 2009, with production beginning in 2015. The company installed a second still in 2019.[5] The first whiskey was released to the public in 2015, the 10-year small batch rye.[4]

WhistlePig board members attempted to remove Bhakta from the company in 2016, accusing him of fraud and mismanagement.[10] The leadership structure then changed, with Bhakta remaining as founder and chief steward. Bhakta sold his shares and fully exited the company in 2019.[11]

In 2021, WhistlePig began to sell a bourbon, Beyond Bonded, as well as an Irish whiskey, Limavady Irish Whiskey.[1] In 2022, the company released a non-alcoholic whiskey, which uses its 6-year-aged PiggyBack Rye.[12]

•  Liquor portal
•  Vermont portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to WhistlePig.

• Official website