WhistlePig Farmstock Crop 003 Rye Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B

WhistlePig is now three years into their transition from relying on sourced rye whiskey (from Indiana and Alberta, Canada) to in-house production, and the standard bearer of that transition is Farmstock. The company started some 11 years ago, using imported Alberta-made 100% rye whiskey selected by the late, great Dave Pickerell, but the distillery in Vermont only opened in the Fall of 2015.

Farmstock’s current batch is made of a blend of 52% of WhistlePig’s 3 year old, in-house 100% rye whiskey with 31%  6 year old Alberta rye and 17% 10 year old Alberta rye, the latter being what goes into the flagship WhistlePig expression. Farmstock is bottled at 86 proof.

The Whiskey
A pour of the latest Farmstock has a golden look, verging on copper. Coating the interior of the glass leaves behind a great many skinny, beady, slow-moving tears.

The nose is a simple one, but robust for an 86 proof whiskey. The scent is butterscotch in the main, with notes of rye spice and cedar. The flavor embraces caramel and rye spice, with traces of pepper and wood. The finish runs light, but lingering, with a brushing of pepper and ash. That last bit was quite a surprise, as that trace of smoke was the last thing I was expecting, but it put the perfect period on the experience as a whole.

The Price
Expect to pay $73 per bottle.