NV WhistlePig - Boss Hog IV The Black Prince (62%)
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
This fourth edition of The Boss Hog series is the first Rye Whiskey ever finished in Armagnac casks. It was named "Best in Show" after a blind-tasting at 2017's San Francisco World Spirits Competition, beating some of the world's oldest Scotches to the title. Founder Raj Bhakta describes it as: "all the punch of rye, with a touch of French sophistication." The 14 year old, cask-strength whiskey takes its name, The Black Prince, from England's Edward of Woodstock - the eldest son of King Edward III. The Prince stormed and looted French towns during the Hundred Years War, allegedly returning to England with substantial treasures including the finest Armagnacs. This legend is immortalised in the hand-crafted Danforth Pewter bottle stopper which features the distiller's iconic pig emblem adorned in The Black Prince's armour.
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
An insanely good Rye, the NV The Boss Hog The Ivth Edition The Black Prince is deeper amber-hued and has a killer perfume of toffee and caramel that gives way to more spice, fig, and ginger, and it's not just powerful, offering plenty of complexity and nuance. Resolved and elegant on the palate, it has a mouthcoating texture, perfectly integrated alcohol, and a great, great finish. This is one of those rich, powerful, yet weightless Whiskeys that just begs to be drunk. It doesn't get much better.
About the producer
Vermont-based WhistlePig is one of the most exciting rye whiskey producers. Since it officially opened in 2015, the zero-generation farm has led the rye revival and pioneered the conversation about terroir in spirits.