Editor’s Note: This whisky was provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. This in no way, per our editorial policies, influenced the final outcome of this review. It should also be noted that by clicking the buy link in this review our site receives a small referral payment which helps to support, but not influence, our editorial and other costs.
When you think of whiskey makers who specialize in rye, WhistlePig should be among the first who come to mind. The Vermont distillery almost single-handedly built the market for pricey, high-end rye whiskey in the past 20 years. (The Boss Hog, anyone?) And its 10-year rye is one of the standard bottles I keep on my bar at all times.
Among the many special labels WhistlePig has released in the past couple of years is its Legends Series, as a way to partner with distinctive outside people or groups in an effort to develop interesting whiskeys.
The first in the Legends Series was with baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz, in early 2022. The six-year-old rye was finished with toasted DO34 maplewood bats in the barrels – the same type of bat that was Ortiz’s signature piece of equipment in his World Series-winning career.
The second iteration of the series came late last year in collaboration with Grammy-award-winning country music duo Brothers Osborne. T.J. and John Osborne selected the single-barrel release, which was finished with high toast barrel heads.
The most recent release, this fall, involves a partnership with Alfa Romeo’s Formula 1 racing team. The Italian carmaker calls its team the F1 Team Stake, which also graces the label of PiggyBack’s new release.
The whiskey comes in with a proof of 96.77, a nod to the racing number (77) of Alfa Romeo’s top current driver, Valtteri Bottas. And it is finished with lychee and oolong tea, honoring Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu – the first Chinese driver on the F1 circuit.
This also happened, according to WhistlePig’s press release, although I’m hard pressed to tell you whether it really matters to the whiskey that much: “Trial barrels were tested in the team’s wind tunnel in Switzerland before hitting the track. Select barrels then endured varying levels of G-forces at the WhistlePig farm and distillery for the finishing touch.”
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Tasting Notes: WhistlePig Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake Barrel Legends Series
Vital Stats: Mash bill of 100% rye; aged six years; 96.77 proof/48.385% alcohol by volume; $49.99 MSRP for a 750 ml bottle.
Appearance: Light bronze color, noticeably lighter than the 10-year WhistlePig I normally drink.
Nose: The lychee and oolong tea finish is something I’ve never tried – or even heard of – before. It is evident in the nose right away. There’s an herbal, slightly citrusy, black tea scent that isn’t typical of other ryes I’ve had in the past. The rye spice, meanwhile, is understated.
Palate: It also doesn’t taste like most ryes. That’s either really interesting or potentially off-putting, depending upon how much of a purist you are. In this case, WhistlePig has certainly decided to lean into the experiment. It’s lighter and sweeter than the WhistlePig 10 I usually drink, and the fruity, citrusy sensibility I found in the nose is still there. I’m not familiar with lychee, but there’s some fruit in this.
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