Credit: Lost Cargo
WhistlePig PiggyBack Devil’s Slide is a non-alcoholic, rye-based “non-whiskey” produced by WhistlePig as part of their PiggyBack brand family in January 2022. It is a rye whiskey that is aged for 6 years before being “undistilled” to less than 0.5% alcohol by volume.
Proceeds from Devil’s Slide were donated to the United States Bartenders’ Guild to benefit bartenders who were impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released at the beginning of Dry January (or “Rye January,” as the company dubbed it), helping “bartenders who have worked their tails off through the holiday season only to be rewarded by the January drought.”
“We made the Devil’s Slide, a limited edition of our flagship PiggyBack 100-percent Rye, to support their resolutions, give back to the bartenders who will miss them, and to challenge expectations on the level of craft and quality a non-alc can deliver. Age statements have never been done before in this space and — just as with a well-aged whiskey — it makes all the difference.”
– Meghan Ireland, WhistlePig Head Blender
It was released alongside The Devil’s Slide “Half Send,” another non-whiskey that had been infused with locally sourced, Vermont hemp extract. In January 2024, WhistlePig released their Dank & Dry Old Fashioned, a bottled cocktail made with PiggyBack Rye Non-Whiskey, maple syrup and cannabis terpenes.1Robb Report – WhistlePig Released a Booze-Free Old Fashioned Just in Time for Dry January
Reviews
Devil’s Slide is an interesting enough spirits alternative, and it will find both fans and detractors since everyone’s reason for being sober-curious differs, as do their preferences. This release may be a little lacking, but I think they are really on to something.
Images
WhistlePig Dank & Dry Old Fashioned cocktail
