Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 85 |
| Style |
Bourbon American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky, Vermont United States |
| ABV | 44% |
| Availability | Year Round |
| Price | $90.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2025-02-11 |
WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail Bourbon Aged 10 Years Review
Vermont-based WhistlePig built its reputation on the back of (often great) sourced rye whiskey from Canada and the U.S., occasionally with novel (also often great!) finishing techniques. Beyond the brand’s core offerings, the annual Boss Hog releases especially are known to push the boundaries of finishing casks.
But WhistlePig’s latest advancement isn’t a rye at all, but rather a Kentucky-distilled bourbon with a unique finishing pedigree. It’s certainly not WhistlePig’s first foray into bourbon — the 100 proof PiggyBack Bourbon comes to mind — but with a 10 year age statement, it’s certainly the oldest corn-based whiskey to enter the brand’s core offerings.
Dubbed WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail Bourbon, the whiskey is a 10 year Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey that’s undergone secondary barrel aging in Vermont. These finishing barrels feature two distinct heads, each made of wood sourced from Vermont. The “snout” is made of oak and undergoes a medium toast, while the “tail” is made of smoked, toasted maple wood. During the finishing period, the barrels are flipped 180 degrees such that the whiskey comes into contact with each full barrel head for some length of time.
(One might therefore deduce these barrels are palletized and stored on the heads as opposed to a ricked setup on their sides.)
The final product is bottled at 88 proof. Interestingly, WhistlePig says this is a nod to the distance between its Vermont HQ and a new, Kentucky-based tourist experience — The WhistlePig PiggyBank — set to open this spring in Louisville, Ky. (The distance between is 880 miles.)
Let’s see how it tastes!
WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail Bourbon Aged 10 Years: Stats and Availability
This is a new release from WhistlePig, and it seems destined for widespread availability. It’s currently on sale on the brand’s website and hit nationwide distribution in late January. It carries a suggested retail price of around $90. Time will tell, but given availability and some comparisons on the market, I’d expect this will be available for around MSRP for those looking.
WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail Bourbon Aged 10 Years Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
On the nose, we’ve quickly got some classic — if not especially pungent — Kentucky bourbon notes. Vanilla extract, toffee, and pralines lead, with a light undercurrent of brandy-soaked cherries. A little more time in the glass brings out gradual waves of almond cookies, spiced apple butter, cardamom pods, and hot buttered cornbread, the last of which remains a predominant note for the rest of the nose.
Scents get both sweeter and more wood-forward with time. There’s enough oak here to show the stripes of age (along with a surprise hit of hickory), but generally, no particular note punches too far above its weight. For example, small wafts of fruit come forth from time to time, but at 88 proof, they’re almost too fleeting to register for more than a second.
This certainly isn’t a bad nose, and it’s tough to spot any particular flaws. And there’s certainly enough for the nostrils to grab on to, but I found myself wanting a bit more in the realm of…everything. The ABV/proof is a sneaky nod to WhistlePig’s new outpost in Louisville, but at least here, I wonder if it’s simply a few points below optimal for a 10 year, double barreled bourbon.
Taste
When it comes to specific flavors, the palate is a near facsimile of the nose, at least to start. A (quite tasty) freshly baked cornbread leads, this time spread liberally with honey-sweetened butter. There’s immediately perceptible nuttiness as well, wrapped in a sugary glaze; it’s close to Jordan almonds in their near-saccharine glory. Toward the midpalate comes the flavors of spiced cola, like somewhat diluted Dr. Pepper.
Snout-to-Tail highlights the impact of wood finishing, and like on the nose, that’s far and away the most interesting element here. What starts on the first sip as lightly toasted oak evolves to maple and applewoods, along with (again) hickory. The wood couples well with nut-forward sweetness, and again, I enjoy the balance. Simultaneously, I find myself craving more oomph and a slightly thicker, more viscous pour, as if the best version of this whiskey lies somewhere north of 90 proof.
Finish
The finish is pleasant and appropriately lengthy, perhaps lingering a few seconds longer than expected from the palate. Sweetened spearmint joins those cornbread and oak components for a final twist of flavor.
WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail Bourbon Aged 10 Years Rating
85/100
Recap
There’s a lot to like about WhistlePig’s latest bourbon, and I’d happily sip this over a number of other 10 year Kentucky-sourced bourbons. My main critique is that I simply wanted more of what it was offering. Some bourbons can certainly excel below 90 proof. But I can’t shake the feeling that WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail has more to offer. In that way, the wink-wink nod to geography as the inspiration for proof may have done this bottle a slight disservice.
That said, I hope the brand keeps experimenting with new and potentially novel takes on finishing whiskey. It’s certainly helped them hit some home runs in the past.
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