WhistlePig isn’t any stranger to distinctive whiskeys. The model’s annual Boss Hog expressions are at all times coveted releases, and different bottles function uncommon finishes or further time in barrels.
The BigShǝBàng is the newest extra-aged launch from WhistlePig, and it’s “aged longer than every other N. American single malt,” in line with the model.
It was aged for 30 years and completed in Vin Santo barrels, a uncommon Italian dessert wine that’s crafted by way of the low-yield, labor-intensive appassimento methodology, wherein dried grapes are fermented.
“We didn’t look ahead to our single malt’s thirtieth birthday simply to play it secure. The BigShǝBàng is a taste supernova — radiant, otherworldly, and in contrast to something we’ve ever put in a bottle,” stated Meghan Eire, WhistlePig’s head blender. “We’ve been looking down Vin Santo barrels for just a few years now, and the celebrities lastly aligned with a valuable few to complete this inaugural launch. As with lots of our most elusive casks, they’ve proved to be a catalyst for complexity that’s nicely well worth the quest.”
The BigShǝBàng is full-flavored, with notes of honeyed bread, wheat crust, and florals on the nostril. The palate brings refined clove, freshly kneaded dough, and honeysuckle on the palate, with a end of toasted cedar and lingering sweetness.
The BigShǝBàng is 90.4 proof and completes a trinity of single malts, following predecessors The Béhôlden (aged 21 years, completed in WhistlePig rye barrels) and The Badönkådonk (aged 25 years, completed in Silver Oak cabernet barrels).
It’s extraordinarily uncommon, with simply 4 barrels in existence, and is priced accordingly at $4,999. It’ll be accessible to style at The WhistlePig Vault in Louisville, Kentucky, later this fall, and bottles will make their strategy to choose institutions nationwide.