If you like your whiskey adventurous, then you're probably a fan of WhistlePig. The Vermont-based outfit first made a name for itself by making rye hip again after bursting onto the scene in 2007, and in the ensuing years has forged a reputation as one of the industry's most experimental and fun-loving brands. Look no further than the brand's recent "sun-toasted" whiskey release or any of the fantastic annual Boss Hog bottles that experiment with unique finishes for proof (no pun intended).
But WhistlePig's latest bottle of whiskey might be its oddest yet. In collaboration with Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, the distillery actually brought some whiskey barrels to Switzerland to be trialed in the F1 team's wind tunnel. So, does wind trialing a whiskey actually do anything to its flavor? I got a bottle to find out.
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WhistlePig PiggyBack Legends Series: Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake Barrel Read More
Whiskey in a wind tunnel?
While the wind tunnel trial might seem like a novelty, that doesn't mean we should be dismissing this whiskey out of hand. It's a small-batch, single-barrel rye with a unique barrel finish, and is the third entry in WhistlePig's Single Barrel PiggyBack Legends Series. And, for what it's worth, it sounds like the wind tunnel trial actually had some effect on the whiskey. It inspired additional G-force trials that later took place back at the WhistlePig Farm in Vermont, which accelerated the contact between the wood of the barrel and the liquid inside in what head blender Meghan Ireland calls "dynamic aging."
Inspired and selected by Formula One drivers
As a single barrel release, someone had to select the barrel that would ultimately be bottled and sold. And in this case, that task was left to Alfa Romeo's Formula One drivers: Zhou Guanyu of China and Valtteri Bottas of Finland. What's more, the two athletes also directly inspired the whiskey. The rye — officially called "WhistlePig PiggyBack Legends Series: Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake Barrel" — is bottled at 96.77 proof, a nod to Bottas’ racing number of 77. It was also finished in a lychee and oolong tea barrel, bringing East Asian flavor notes to honor Zhou, the first-ever Chinese Formula One driver.
So ... what does G-force-trialed whiskey taste like?
Appearance-wise, this is a dark whiskey. I didn't have a standard bottle of PiggyBack 6-Year on hand to compare it to, but I did have WhistlePig's SumerStock Rye and 12-year-old Old World Rye, and the F1 whiskey is several shades darker than both, sporting a reddish oak color. Is that a result of the "dynamic aging?" I can't say, but it looks both appetizing and a little intense.
On the nose, it's a bit harsher than those other ryes due to the higher proof (both are 86 proof), but what I mostly get is a very floral smell with a hint of very sweet-smelling fruit. I would never in a million years identify said fruit as "lychee," but that's mainly because I don't know what lychee smells like off the top of my head. I assume that's what I'm smelling.
On the palate, things get interesting, because it mostly tastes how it smells. There is some tea in there for sure, as well as that vague sweet pear-like fruity taste. It's exceptionally flowery too, and honestly tastes kind of like potpourri. Not in a bad way, but this is an unusual whiskey that is definitely not going to be for everyone. Me? I like it, quite a bit. On the finish, the weirdness dissipates and you're left with a nice dose of WhistlePig's signature rye spice along with a lingering sweetness enticing you to take another sip.
How to buy WhistlePig x Alfa Romeo F1 Whiskey
WhistlePig makes their products pretty easy to buy — you can pick up a bottle directly from their website. This one is priced at $50 a bottle, which is lower than most of WhistlePig's limited releases but is in line with previous single-barrel releases from the PiggyBack Legends Series. It is a single-barrel release though, meaning once it's gone, it's gone. So you'll need to race to hit that checkout button if you're looking to score a bottle.
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