Whistlepig
Single Barrel Rye
Age: 10
Abv: 52%
Price: ~100€
This particular whiskey was bottled for Fellowship of the Whisky and was only available in Finland. I didn't originally purchase this as I had to "invest" my money in other objects. Later on I had the chance to taste this and also got an offer for an "extra" bottle that I could purchase. I didn't have to think too long as this was quite tasty whiskey. Now it's time to check, is it as delicious as I remember.
Nose: You can definitely find the rye in there, but even more it's this cotton candy like sweetness. First thought that pops in to my head is, that "This is how I imagine rye flavoured Hubba Bubba would taste like". Red berries starts to jump to the surface breaking the candy layer. And once the layer is broken, there's also vanilla and caramel popping in. All of these flavours are rounded by the rye. It feels like the rye is creating boundaries for the other flavours.
Taste: Big cherry flavours at the beginning, but quite fast it turns to this mellow vanilla custard. It already starts to feel, that this is quite calm whisky, but then the spiciness of the rye rushes in kicking the doors down and declaring the party started with the Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right coming from the boombox. Just as I get ready to wrestle down this rye-filled hooligan, it calms back down and there's Queen Elisabeth in pink dress politely asking, that is this calm enough for you.
After: The rye keeps marching on in the after taste. It runs over the sweetness like nothing. Oak and vanilla finally pushes the rye over. The taste is long and it's slowly looking for new forms and variations to the after taste. Last taste is this caramel-rye that fades away from the back of my tongue, leaving a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Fresh and fruity whisky that has some character, but also a mellower side. This actually had a bit of this Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde feeling to it. Warm and fuzzy with cherry on a top and on the other hand the spiciness of rye and all rougher flavours that took over for a while. This whisky works well.