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WhistlePig Announces Release of Boss Hog V: The Spirit of Mauve

The latest Boss Hog release was finished in Calvados casks and, like last release, has a suggested retail of $499.
  • Margarett Waterbury is a whiskey enthusiast and industry expert.
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It might still look like summer out there, but fall’s special release season is already underway. WhistlePig just announced the details about its fifth Boss Hog release, which is always a special edition, single barrel, barrel-proof whiskey. Last year’s release, Boss Hog IV: The Black Prince, was named Best in Show Whiskey at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

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This new release is called Boss Hog V: The Spirit of Mauve, named in honor of one of “the brand’s founding celebrity pigs,” according to a publicist’s statement. As in years past, each bottle comes sealed with a pewter stopper shaped like the pig it honors. This version is packaged inside a “casket-inspired gift box”—spooky!

Inside that casket and under that stopper is a 13-year-old straight rye whiskey finished in Calvados casks “in honor of Mauve’s undying love of apples.” (Calvados is a French brandy distilled in Normandy from apples and sometimes pears.) In that way, it’s the continuation of a French spirits theme for WhistlePig, as the Black Prince release was aged in Armagnac barrels. The brand doesn’t say where the whiskey was originally distilled, although it does give an MSRP, an eye-popping $499 for a 750-ml bottle.

Here are the official tasting notes from WhistlePig:

Nose: Mulled cider, cardamom, candied ginger and a touch of piper tobacco. Caramel, vanilla and gentle Rye spice develops with time in the glass.

Palate: Maple syrup and pears are balanced by dark chocolate and French oak spice. With water, the spice moves front and center and a vibrant, fruit-forward character develops.

Finish: Lasting spice and a touch of charred oak and caramel, maple syrup lingers as the finish fades.

Margarett Waterbury

Margarett Waterbury is the author of "Scotch: A Complete Introduction to Scotland's Whiskies" and a full-time freelance writer and editor specializing in the beverage industry. Her work has graced the pages of numerous publications, including Whisky Advocate, Food and Wine, Spirited Magazine, Artisan Spirit, Edible Seattle, Sip Northwest, Civil Eats, Travel Oregon, and many others. She also boasts editorial experience as the former managing editor of Edible Portland and as a co-founder and former managing editor of The Whiskey Wash. In recognition of her talent, Margarett received the Alan Lodge Young Drinks Writer of the Year award in 2017 and was awarded fellowships for the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in 2017 and 2019.

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