I finally cracked open last year’s Whistlepig Boss Hog release, the Independent. It’s cask strength at 120.3 Proof and has had a complex journey over it’s 14 years of aging; first aged in new oak barrels, it then spends time in used bourbon barrels, and then in Scottish hogsheads. Hogsheads are barrels five times the size of normal that are generally constructed from used bourbon barrels to age large amounts of scotch.

The color is a rich copper. The nose is complex; very spicy and smokey. The palate is a little hot but has wonderful rye spice. Luxurious mouthfeel for a Rye. The finish is unmistakable Islay heavy peat; if I had to guess which distillery, I would pick Caol Ila of maybe Lagavulin; definitely Diageo. Overall, this whiskey is the very upscale cousin of High West’s Campfire.

I had quite a few guests try this whiskey. It definitely was impressive but I have to say this was not as much of a crowd pleaser than the Jefferson’s aged in French wine casks. Peat is not everyone’s thing.

I will be interested to see how the new edition, the Black Prince, aged in Armagnac casks, tastes. Light fruity brandy finish on this whiskey should be quite interesting.