WhistlePig 17 Year The Boss Hog VII Magellan’s Atlantic

Review by: zSolaris

Distillery: ?

Bottler: WhistlePig

Region: ?

Age: 17 Year.

ABV: I forgot to write it down, WP’s site indicates it can be between 52.55% and 53.90% depending on the barrel. Cask Strength.

Cask Type: 17 years in American oak casks, then three weeks in Spanish oak casks and finally three days in Brazillian teakwood casks.

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/I_SAID_NO_GOLDFISH.

Color: 1.4, Tawny.

Nose: (according to the wife) It smells like a medicinal drink. There’s cherry flavored cough syrup and a bunch of baking spices with allspice, nutmeg, and clove being the main ones.

Palate: The first thing you taste is an explosion of baking spices. There’s nutmeg and clove for days. That’s followed up by a rather boozey maple syrup. Towards the end, there’s a funky and weird flavor that I can’t quite place. It’s almost medicinal and the closest thing that comes to mind is eucalyptus.

Finish: Fairly long. I might believe you if you told me it was finished in port casks. There’s a slightly tangy note that reminds me heavily of balsamic vinegar. Raisins and tons of those baking spices also pop in.

Conclusion: This is the second Boss Hog I’ve had the pleasure to try and while I heavily appreciate WhistlePig’s dedication to making something new and innovative, I’m not sure they’ve succeeded here. It starts off as one that rye lovers will adore. There’s baking spices galore which are tempered nicely by some sweeter notes of maple syrup. Then towards the end, it gets a bit funky and disjointed. These nearly-medicinal notes pop in and don’t seem to quite fit in. I’m not sure whether it comes from one of the short finishes or from the original maturation but I’m left thinking this missed the mark ever so slightly. It’s not bad at all, just a bit disjointed.

Final Score: 82.

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

Published by zSolaris

Unknown's avatar

Home is where the corn is! Or at least that's what I told the wife before moving her from sunny Southern California to the Midwest anyway. She doesn't share my love of scotch, the drink, but has been incredibly supportive of my little wander down the rabbit hole. We do both share a love of Scotch, our dog, though (she named him, I swear!). He's the cutie in the profile pic.

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