List of products by brand Whistlepig Whiskey

WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey is one of the few 100% rye whiskeys available today.

In 2006, a group of Rye enthusiasts purchased a 500-acre dairy in the rolling hills of Vermont's Champlain Valley.

Today, the farm, which has been painstakingly restored to grow rye grains, is home to master distiller Dave Pickerell's magnum work: WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey.

After graduating with a degree in chemistry at West Point, Pickerell served in the military for eleven years as a cavalry officer.

He subsequently earned a Masters in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisville, before serving as president of the Kentucky Distillers Association and master distiller at Maker's Mark in Loretto, Kentucky for 13 years.

"This is what I was meant for," says Pickerell of the whiskey business.

After leaving Maker's Mark, Pickerell set out on a journey to find the perfect rye whiskey.

"Rye, in its very essence, is just a bright grain," says Pickerell. "I wanted to make rye because it is America's historic whiskey."

During the Revolutionary War, British blockades of American ports prevented settlers from purchasing molasses used to make rum.

As a result, American distillers, including George Washington, began making rye whiskey.

During his hunt for the perfect rye, Pickerell came to the conclusion that: "To be a perfect rye, it must be 100% rye."

Having scoured distilleries and rick houses across the continent for over a year, Pickerell has found the perfect source for Canadian aged rye whiskey.

WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey is one of the few 100% rye whiskeys available today.

"Rye is the brat of whiskey grains. The higher the percentage of rye you get, the worse it performs," ​​says Pickerell.

“It gets sticky. It foams. Many of my colleagues laugh at me for continuing to work with 100% rye because the annoyance level of going from 95% to 100% is unbelievable.

Most people stop at 95%. Let's go ahead and push the envelope and make it 100%. "