Whistlepig Smokestock Whiskey

Nose of smoke, charcoal, ash, rye, band-aids, juniper and grilled pineapple. On the palate it’s sweet and smoky, with flavors of rye, smoked pork, wood smoke, charred wood, juniper berries and a touch of vanilla. The finish is smoked evergreen. The smoke is just about right; it’s obvious without overpowering. Odd in ways as well. For starters, I wouldn’t look askance at someone if they were to taste this and think it a smoke aged gin as opposed to a whiskey. Also, I think it’s odd that they don’t tell us what we have on the bottle. According to mine, this is simply whiskey aged in traeger wood fired barrels. There is no mention of grain (fair enough), but surprisingly there’s no info on the wood. I could be wrong, but I read this to mean that they wood fired a barrel of some sort of wood using some sort of traeger pellets. So there are potentially two types of wood at work. I suppose it’s just academic, but I’m curious. And since this is essentially a marketing gimmick, I would think they would share more info. Oh well, smoked booze being hit or miss, this is generally pretty enjoyable, though not great.

A bit let down. The start has vanilla, caramels, and honey, followed by very subtle oak, hay, applewood, and faint hints of smoke. The finish is short to medium, full of honey, smoke, and sweet applewood. Considering the price, I'm not fully satisfied. The smoke is quite light and mild. It's clearly not a rye, which is very apparent from the flavor profile. It feels a bit underwhelming for the cost, but it's a very smooth whiskey from my perspective. It's unique, but not uniquely so.

I was planning on smoking some pork butt, so seeing this bottle made it impossible not to buy. The aroma was quiet but eventually offered a suggestion of barbecue seasoning and char. The taste was smoky, with a savory, herbaceous sweetness that brought to mind the barbecue of Carolina. As a scotch drinker, the smoke is appealing. It’s not what I'd describe as powerful, but it’s decent for a novelty item, and I suspect it will go well with pulled pork when I finally eat.

I've tried this again, and it's absolutely terrible. Truly awful, with virtually no redeeming qualities, even after searching for them. I'm not sure if it has degraded over time or if my palate was off during the previous tasting. It's almost comical that this was considered acceptable by the brand. It's rare for me to criticize a whiskey so harshly, but I'm utterly baffled by this liquid and think the brand needs to seriously re-evaluate. Avoid it.

This is poor quality. It's as if liquid smoke was added to a very young whiskey (rye? The spirit type isn't even specified). The nose is one-dimensional, smelling of campfire, but not in the pleasant, peaty scotch way. The palate resembles artificial bacon-flavored dog treats. The finish is intensely dry. It's a genuinely bad whiskey, and considering the cost, I'm embarrassed to have it on my bar.

The aroma was concerning, offering only strong rubbing alcohol notes. I have mixed feelings. It's a spirit that demands to be savored, and that's a positive. A previous review accurately described it as Smoked BBQ Brisket. The lingering finish is a plus for me. It does not blend well.