WhistlePig’s New 25-Year-Old Single Malt Is the Most Ambitious Whiskey It’s Ever Bottled

About a year ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing WhistlePig’s 21-year-old single malt, dubbed “The Béhôlden.” And I do mean pleasure. The whiskey remains one of my favorites I’ve ever tried, with a refined, nectar-like sweetness that goes down exceptionally easily.

At the time, The Béhôlden represented a new market for WhistlePig. The Vermont brand, established in 2007, had built its reputation on transforming rye into a premium product and is largely associated with its flagship Piggyback Rye, a 6-year-old liquid that retails for around $50. The Béhôlden was billed as the first “super-aged” North American single-malt whiskey (not technically part of the American single malt trend, as the liquid is Canadian), and it cost a whopping $899 a bottle.

But that didn’t deter enthusiasts, who purchased every bottle of the initial run within hours. Now, WhistlePig is back with an even older and more ambitious bottle with the ludicrously named The Badönkådonk. It’s a 25-year-old Canadian single malt (good luck finding an older one) and it costs an eye-watering $2,000 for a 750mL bottle. That’s a lot of money, and WP is clearly setting its sights on the luxury scotch market rather than other North American single malts.

WhistlePig

But has WhistlePig bitten off more than it can chew this time, or is The Badönkådonk actually worthy of occupying its very rarified air? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s taste the stuff.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

Honky Tonk Badonkadonk

25-year-old single malts are not associated with American whiskey, as up until now, there hasn’t really been stock old enough (or enough demand) for anyone to bottle it. So WhistlePig is taking a risk here, probably based on the success of its 21-year, and betting that the market can support such an untested product at an untested price.

As usual, WhistlePig is not up front about where the distillate was sourced, but does state it came from “the first malt distillery in North America,” which can only refer to Glenora Distillery in Nova Scotia, which is also where The Béhôlden originated. WhistlePig is up front about the whiskey’s finishing, however, as the brand teamed up with California’s prestigious Silver Oak winery to finish the whiskey in Silver Oak’s Alexander Valley Cabernet American oak barrels.

So even though the liquid inside is Canadian, there’s a distinctly American influence on the final product.

WhistlePig 25-Year-Old: Tasting Notes

Nose: Surprisingly astringent for such an aged whiskey. Once you get passed that, it comes across as very earthy, like a mossy patch of soil in a forest after a rain. I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as super appetizing, but I wouldn’t mind splashing some on as a fragrance.

Palate: On the tongue, this is a woody beast. Oak is the dominant note by far, unsurprising considering it spent a quarter-century getting to know the stuff, along with a solid dose of tannins. There’s hardly any of the honeyed sweetness that came through so powerfully on the 21-year, but the sweetness I do pick up is that of a rich vanilla custard.

Finish: That custardy taste builds after I swallow, leaving an impression of a whiskey that’s sweeter than it actually is. A notable leather note also pops in to say hello before disappearing just as quickly.

WhistlePig’s 25-year-old single malt isn’t nearly as sweet as its 21-year-old sibling.Photo by Johnny Brayson

A True Scotch Rival, Or a Gimmick with a Silly Name?

After my first couple of sips of the The Badönkådonk, I was underwhelmed. It didn’t give me that immediate elation I got when I drank The Béhôlden, and it lacked the character of many higher-end scotch whiskies I’ve tried. It’s not smoky, it’s not a sherry bomb, it’s… kind of bland.

But the more I drank The Badönkådonk, the more I enjoyed it. I started to pick up more nuances in the flavor that were absent from my initial tasting and began to think that maybe Whistlepig hadn’t whiffed on this after all. Or maybe I was just getting drunk. Hard to say.

In any case, do I think The Badönkådonk is poised to take on the Macallan 25s of the world? No, I don’t. The big Scotch distilleries have spent centuries perfecting their craft, and it’s going to take a young brand like WhistlePig a long time to catch up. But I do think it’s a good whiskey that tastes as refined and complex as its age statement would suggest.

Do I believe it’s worth $2,000? That’s up to you. I personally would never spend two grand on this bottle, but then again, I wouldn’t spend two grand on any bottle of whiskey, so maybe I’m not the best person to ask. If you feel so incline, WhistlePig will sell you a bottle directly from its website, which makes the process a whole lot easier than any of its competitors.

WhistlePig

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