Wow! I had an incredible experience at WhistlePig Farm in Vermont with the Saratoga Whiskey Club. The WhistlePig Whiskey folks were kind and generous, the whiskey was delicious, the farm was gorgeous, and we made a new porcine friend, creating a memorable stay. I’m looking forward to enjoying a bottle of the unique 12-yr rye that we blended while we were there.

Upon our arrival on Friday, Pam tended bar and provided us with savory snacks and delicious drams, including The Boss Hog Rye 5th Edition and WhistlePig Farm Estate Oak Rye 15 Yr

Josh then took us on a tour of the distillery and the farm, where we met a few more folks from WhistlePig, including Meghan and Emily; and we played darts (where Art won a bottle of rye for nailing a bull’s eye); and we guessed the proof of a cask-strength rye in the warehouse (once again, Art won a bottle of rye, this time for guessing the proof to the nearest 1/10th). During the tour, we sampled Farmstock Crop No. 003 Rye and PiggyBack 6 Yr Rye

We also met Mortimer II, a very friendly pig; and we sampled some maple syrup at the tiki bar in the sugar shack.

This was followed by a spectacular dinner, prepared by Chef KC, that included local boar and rainbow carrots. After dinner, we hung out for a while at the fire pit and then headed off to the Rumpus Room for (rye-)spirited competition in poker, billiards, darts, and Frogger. Dan was the ultimate champion of the Whiskey Olympics. Despite the massive dinner, we somehow managed to eat a dozen bags of potato chips, a dozen chocolate chip cookies made with rye flour, and a dozen chocolate-whiskey brownies, as well as a whole plate of charcuterie. I guess the competition made us hungry.

On Saturday morning, a few more folks from the club arrived, and we blended our own unique barrel of 12-yr rye from casks of Madeira, Sauternes, and Port finishes. After serious manipulations with pipettes, and some hearty discussion, we settled on a final blend of 51% Madeira, 44% Sauternes and 5% Port. And, we wrapped it all up and said farewell with glorious drams of 18 Yr Double Malt Straight Rye Whiskey out on the sun-drenched deck. Thank you, Suzette Morabito for setting this up and providing us with a great time!

Cheers! / Slainte! / Kanpai!