Cass Anderson / BroBible
WhistlePig Whiskey in Shoreman, Vermont has been releasing annual ‘Boss Hog’ for 10 glorious years now, starting with the Boss Hog I: Spice Dancer back in 2013 on through to last month when The Boss Hog X: The Commandments was released. I spoke with WhistlePig head blender Meghan Ireland for an interview (below) on what makes this year’s Boss Hog so spectacular.
Every Boss Hog is unique and brings with it something that’s never been tasted before in whiskey. Last year’s Boss Hog release, the Siren’s Song, was double-finished in two unique barrels. The first barrels previously held Greek fig nectar and the second barrels held scratch-made Tentura which is ‘a Greek style liqueur inspired by Ancient Patras.’ The year before that, The Boss Hog VIII: LapuLapu’s Pacific, was double-finished in high toast, small-batch, single island Philippine Rum casks.
Whistle Pig Boss Hog X: The Commandments, What’s In The Bottle
Cass Anderson / BroBible
For the 10th Boss Hog, the culmination of a decade’s worth of pushing boundaries, WhistlePig once again pulled off something that’s never been done before in whiskey. The Boss Hog X: The Commandments was finished in two unique barrels.
For the first finish, WhistlePig created their own experimental spirit (distillate) using frankincense and myrrh (Boswellia and Commiphora) that was seasoned into the barrels. Those resins added notes of creme brulee and rosemary to this year’s Boss Hog. And for the second finish, the Boss Hog was aged in craft mead casks which imbued it with honey, red berries, and fresh cracked black pepper.
The Boss Hog X: Commandments, like its predecessors, comes with a handmade pewter bottle topper, something we discuss in the interview below. Commandments has (had?) an MSRP of $599 and sold out nearly instantly after going on sale. But, as is the case with all premium whiskeys, it can be found for the right price and it will be available to sample at your favorite whiskey watering holes. Commandments was bottled between 105.3-107 (52.6-53.5% ABV) making it very smooth.
Blind Tast Testing WhistlePig The Boss Hog X: The Commandments
I hosted some friends on Saturday and decided to indulge in some completely-over-the-top blind taste testing. I poured a WhistlePig 15 Year, last year’s Boss Hog IX: Siren’s Song, and this year’s Boss Hog X: The Commandments.
There was one clear winner:
Cass Anderson / BroBible
The rankings in order came out as: 1. Boss Hog X: The Commandments, 2. WhistlePig 15 Year, and 3. Boss Hog IX: Siren’s Song. This blind taste wasn’t just for me, of course, so I asked my friends what they loved about the three and the consensus is Commandments was blended in a way that it will appeal to all whiskey drinkers. Whether someone’s pour of choice is a bourbon, rye, single malt, etc., the Boss Hog Commandments seems to have flavor elements that will draw everyone in.
This is, without a doubt, one of the best whiskeys I’ve tasted. Not just whiskeys I’ve tasted this year but at any point, and that’s driven by the fact that it’s unlike anything I’ve tasted before, yet there’s something so familiar about it.
Interview With WhistlePig Head Blender Meghan Ireland On What Makes Boss Hog X So Special
WhistlePig Distillery
Cass: “How, if at all, did the process differ in the creation of this year’s Boss Hog from previous releases with this year being the 10th (anniversary) release?”
Meghan Ireland (WhistlePig Head Blender): “I don’t think it was so much an anniversary edition that made this year different. I think this year, we really kind of pushed ourselves and took a lot of time and spent a lot of time looking at wood. And we looked at how we could use wood differently than how we have in the past and how it traditionally is used in whiskey.”
“We were like, ‘we’ve done the actual wood and barrels… And we’ve looked at sap… We’ve done a lot with maple syrup up here at the farm…. What other part of the tree could we really use to create a flavor input?’ And that’s kind of what pushed us and what had us eventually ended up with these these resins.”
Cass: “Did you experiment with any resins (or flavors) that you were on the fence about and might revisit in the future or were there any experimentations that you were like ‘absolutely not, this is not good’?
Meghan: “Yeah, we definitely looked at a couple different resins. I would say originally, kind of a lot of what sparked the idea of using resins is a actually a Greek drink. So looking back at last year’s Boss Hog. When we were researching in Greece, we were like oh, that’s kind ‘of that’s really cool’ and t kind of sparked some inspiration from there. But we ended up with those frankincense and myrrh mainly for those aromatics that it really brings to the table.”
Cass: “How does the actual finishing with those frankincense and myrrh resins into the blend work?”
Meghan: “So we’re just so we’ve finished the blend with those, right. So we took the the frankincense and myrrh and essentially macerated them in distillate. Then we re-distilled that distillate because resins tend to give a really weird mouthfeel. So we then redistilled that and it took away kind of a funky mouthfeel but kept a lot of those aromatic notes that we really loved. And then we put that distillate into the barrel and seasoned the barrel with that. So that’s kind of the journey those frankincense and myrrh resins made.”
Cass: “Were there any resins beyond frankincense and myrrh that you like that you might want to revisit in the future?”
Meghan: “Those were definitely the two that stuck out. I don’t know… Again, because it’s been in a Boss Hog now. I don’t know that we’ll go back down that resin path, although at WhistlePig never say never…”
Cass: “How, if at all, has your palate and tasting process changed from last year’s Boss Hog blending? Did you find yourself gravitating toward any specific flavors or notes or shying away from anything on the flavor wheel?”
Meghan: “I think for me, especially with Boss Hog, it’s more about trying to find flavors that I haven’t had in whiskey before. Approaching Boss Hog is about trying to be different and we want everyone to experience something new when they’re tasting Boss Hog. So it’s not so so much I think that change in palate versus like, I’m looking for something new and different that I’ve never tasted before.”
The Team Behind The Boss Hog X: The Commandments Magic
Cass: “How many people are involved in the Boss Hog tasting process leading up to the final blend?”
Meghan: “We have a solid team of like six of us here who kind of tasted and make the big decisions. But we’l also have some guests who come out to the farm and stuff like that. And they’ll walk by sometimes we just hand them a little sample. And we’re like, ‘hey, we won’t tell them what it is right?’ We’ll be like, ‘hey, what do you think about this?’ So yea, there’s six of us that have a pretty big voice in it as a crew, but also, we make sure to taste outside of those people as well.”
Cass: “And then in that process do you all have some idea of what you want to do before you start tasting? In terms of narrowing it down to X number of blends?”
Meghan: “We’re normally at 5 or 6 (blends) that we’re feeling ‘okay, one of these is IT.’ And then choosing between those. It’s normally in that five to six range of like, alright, ‘which which way are we gonna go?’
Cass: “You mentioned wanting everyone to experience something new when tasting Boss Hog. Is there anything you avoid doing because of that when looking toward a new blend?”
Meghan: “So we’ll look back at previous years. Again, more so because we want it to be different and we want it to be something you’ve never tasted before. And also, after it’s a Boss Hog… Like, I’m not gonna go back and touch Calvados (casks) again. You want to preserve that yours Boss Hog for what it was.”
“But in terms of looking back, Boss Hog every year is different than anything you’ve ever tasted before, including our Boss Hogs before.”
Cass: “The box for The Boss Hog X: The Commandments is pretty incredible as is the pewter topper. Do you ever hear from diehard WhistlePig drinkers about any cool projects they do with those pewter bottle toppers?”
Meghan: “Definitely. Some people have actually sent us cool stuff that we have around the (WhistlePig) farm. Like we have a coat hanger that’s a barrel stave and all of the toppers are in the stave as coat hangers on the front entrance (of the farm). And I’ve seen someone make a chess set now that we have enough toppers to do that. And then I’ve seen some people who have gotten into painting the bottle toppers that are really cool, painted kind of like little figurines with small little details. People definitely get pretty creative with it.”
Cass: “So what does the timeline look like from the release of The Boss Hog X: The Commandments to when you start ideating and working on next year’s Boss Hog? Or has that already begun?”
Meghan: “Oh we’re already in it. We’re already deep in it.”
Cass: “From start to finish, how long did The Boss Hog X: The Commandments take, not including what you built on from the previous 9 Boss Hogs?”
Meghan: “It’s normally like a year and a half to two years of getting Boss Hog finalized and where we want it to be.”
If you enjoyed this, feel free to follow me on X at @casspa for more Whiskey-related content. And there you can tell me what you thought of this year’s WhistleBig Boss Hog X release!