Premium whiskey brand WhistlePig launches into Kentucky with tasting room, new release
A Vermont-based whiskey brand is bringing an outpost to Kentucky and launching a new release to celebrate.
WhistlePig Whiskey, a premium whiskey brand developed by the late distiller Dave Pickerell, is opening a new bar in downtown Louisville.
The WhistlePig PiggyBank will open in the summer of 2025 at 403 E. Market St.
The historic building just off Whiskey Row was built as a bank in 1912 and at the time was apparently the largest bank vault in Kentucky. It was subsequently home to The Bank Shot Billiards pool hall.
Now it will become a tasting room and one-of-a-kind whiskey bar on Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail featuring WhistlePig’s ryes and bourbons, according to a news release. The former bank vault will house WhistlePig’s most rare and collectible whiskeys for fans to try, according to the release.
The fast-growing brand, which has several premium releases made primarily from sourced whiskey, has a big following in whiskey circles. Some of the releases, such as The Boss Hog, go for hundreds of dollars while others are more reasonably priced.
Now, timed to the announcement of the new Louisville bar, WhistlePig is releasing WhistlePig Snout-to-Tail Bourbon Aged 10 Years.
According to the news release, the bourbon was finished in barrels with two different toasted barrel heads: On one end a Vermont oak medium toast and the other a Vermont oak smoked maple wood toast.
“The only bourbon aged snout-to-tail, WhistlePig flips its barrels 180 degrees in the warehouse to capture each barrel head’s unique toasted flavors and bring out the big, bold character in this palate-pleasing straight bourbon whiskey,” according to the release.
According to Meghan Ireland, WhistlePig’s head blender, this process gives the bourbon a nose of honey, brown sugar and toasted cashew with roasted almonds and baked cornbread on the palate and a finish of fresh crust and cedar.
It’s 88 proof, “a wink to the 880 miles between the WhistlePig Vermont Farm and its new Kentucky outpost,” according to the release. The suggested retail price is $89.99 and it will be available at liquor stores, bars and restaurants nationally beginning Jan. 29, 2025.
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
