Credit: Lost Cargo
WhistlePig RoadStock Rye Whiskey was a special release from WhistlePig and was announced in July 2021. and each has been bottled at 86 proof.
It followed the release of HomeStock in 2020, and the annual FarmStock series releases from 2017 to 2019, all bottled at 86 proof and highlighting some of WhistlePig’s own distillate. This is the first edition in the series that was barrel-finished, using a “rolling rickhouse.”
WhistlePig filled an 18-wheeler truck trailer with barrels of WhistlePig’s rye – half of the barrels had been transferred into Bordeaux blend casks from Jordan Winery, and the other half remained in their charred, virgin Vermont oak barrels. They were then trucked across the country for a 6,000-mile round trip from Chicago, across Route 66 to Paso Robles, CA, and finally, back to Vermont.
In Paso Robles, the truck stopped at Firestone Walker Brewing Company, where they emptied their rye barrels into some of Firestone Walker’s used beer barrels. WhistlePig RoadStock Rye is finished in barrels that once held Firestone Walker’s Bravo Imperial Brown Ale, Helldorado Blonde Barley Wine and Parabola Imperial Stout. In exchange, WhistlePig left behind their rye barrels for Firestone Walker to reuse.
Over the course of the 6,000 mile trip, the barrels experienced vibrations from the road, temperature , altitude, and climate changes, all affecting the influence the barrels had on the whiskey inside. Once back in Vermont, the barrels were blended to create a unique, all-American beer- and wine-finished rye whiskey.
