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Whistlepig The Boss Hog XIII: The Golden Pharaoh Review

What happens when a 3,000-year-old Egyptian tomb recipe meets Vermont rye? WhistlePig's The Boss Hog XXIII proves the whiskey world still has much to explore.

OVERALL RATING

8
$599.99
  • Charles Steele is an attorney and whiskey enthusiast with a penchant for the peculiar.
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Tasting Notes

About:

WhistlePig is releasing their limited-edition The Boss Hog batch XXIII. Once again Meghan Ireland and co are trying to one-up themselves with creativitiy and style with a straight Rye whiskey finished in barrels seasoned with Egyptian black honey and tiger nuts. The expression is available nationwide on 29 September.

The release marks the 13th chapter in the collectible The Boss Hog series. It is also the first in the series to draw inspiration from the continent of Africa. The whiskey originates from a recipe for tiger nut cake found carved into an ancient Egyptian tomb. WhistlePig recreated the recipe on its Vermont farm before applying the flavors to Rye whiskey.

“Through our research, we came across a tiger nut cake recipe carved into the side of a tomb dating back more than 3,000 years,” said Meghan Ireland, head blender at WhistlePig. “We learned that tiger nuts and black honey were a true taste of the Egyptian land and its people, and that really resonated with us.” She added: “We recreated the recipe on our farm and fell in love with the flavor combination. That led us to experiment with the finishing for this year’s The Boss Hog to see what those flavors could do to Rye whiskey. We were not disappointed!”

The straight Rye is aged in new American oak before its finish in the seasoned barrels. Egyptian black honey, known as Asal Eswed in Arabic, is sugarcane molasses rather than bee honey. Tiger nuts are edible tubers with a flavor similar to almonds or coconut.

Each bottle is crowned with a pewter topper inspired by King Tutankhamun. A select number of bottles feature a rare gold topper aimed at collectors.
Appearance:
Tasted neat in a Glencairn after resting. A deep copper but not quite Tawny appearance. Clear with thin slow legs which hung on the glass.
Nose:
Rich nuttiness with a complex dark sugars akin to late Summer. There is light dried grasses, light roasted coffee grounds, Asain pears, and rich dried oak.
Palate:
Over the tongue is a very smooth whiskey. The nuttiness persists and evolves into a very familiar smoke flavor. Not quite peat but more intense than a charcoal. The thick malt provides an almost chewy texture to the dram with drying spices and thick dark caramel.
Finish:
A nice honey and rye pop at the end of the sip sits nicely along the tongue creating an oily mouthfeel. It lingers just long enough to enjoy the lingering flavors before disappearing.
Comments:
I am always a fan of The Boss Hog release. They’re experimental and different. Year-over-year the creative minds at Whistlepig try to press the boundary of pairings and profiles. This year was certainly no different and I think proved there is a lot of the world to explore when it comes to whiskey creation.

Overall this is a beautiful presentation (which is always the case), and although the Pharaoh on my bottle was pewter and not gold, it is still a show stopper on any bar. If you’re a fan of experimental rye, you’ll like this. It has a lot going on, and the flavors dance between eachother sufficiently well to keep you engaged.

Certainly worth sharing but keep tucked out of sight for the right friends.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Charles Steele

Charles Steele, a Portland-based attorney, is a native of the Pacific Northwest. His legal background provides him with an analytical approach to understanding whiskey and other aged spirits. Primarily a legal writer, freelancing for The Whiskey Wash offers Charles a unique opportunity to showcase his versatility as a writer. Although his preference lies with whiskey and whiskey-based cocktails, he has a profound appreciation for all unique and unconventional liquors, from Malört to Ojen - if it's peculiar, he's intrigued.

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