Wigle Single Barrel Straight Rye Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

Wigle Single Barrel Straight Rye
(Credit: Richard Thomas)

It would be fair to say Pennsylvania whiskey begins and ends with its rye, and Pittsburgh’s Wigle Distillery is as good an example of how that works in practice as one is likely to find. Rye isn’t the only whiskey–nor whiskey the only spirit–they make there, but their rye footprint is a large one. They had seven different types available as I’m typing this.

So, it’s necessary to distinguish this one from the others: as you can see in the picture, it’s the blue labeled, single barrel straight rye. This whiskey is made from a 68% rye, 18% wheat and 14% barley. All the grains are organic and grown in the region. It’s aged for four years and bottled at 100 proof.

The Whiskey
Like many rye whiskeys, this wheated rye has a copper bent to its amber coloring. A whiff shows a dual spiciness, one coil of herbaceous, minty spiciness and the other mildly peppery. Underneath is a warm caramel candy.

The flavor, on the other hand, isn’t all that spicy at all. Instead, the stage is held by a caramel candy, akin to a Milky Way with a cherry drizzle instead of a chocolate shell, plus a note of darjeeling tea and a puff of smoke. The spices, to the extent they are present, rise on the back end. From there, the finish turns very rye indeed, running on with pepper, cedar and dill.

The Price
This is available from the distillery for $69, but some online retailers have it marked up to $90.