It’s the dawning of a new day at
the WhistlePig distillery in rural
Vermont. The question once on
everyone’s lips, “What would Dave
do?” has shifted to a resounding,
declarative:“It’s just what Dave
would do” as a dedicated young
team carries forward the legacy
of Master Distiller, Dave Pickerell.
While the title may have perished
with WhistlePig’s beloved found-
er, Dave’s handpicked protégé,
Pete Lynch, remains reverently at
the helm as Master Blender. “Dave
loved to say that we had kindred
palates,” Lynch recalls. “All it took
was a nod, a shake of the head, a
simple ‘too much funk on the back
end’ for us to align fl avor.”
While Lynch now serves as the new
nose for WhistlePig, the brand’s own
Boss Hog still hovers like angel share
within the vaults —all fi lled with Pick-
erell’s own recipes, techniques and
visions for the brand, many of which
he collaborated on with WhistlePig’s
next of kin. “Dave’s fi ngerprints are
all over the whiskeys in our distillery
lab,” says Whiskey Scientist Meghan
Ireland, who shares Pickerell’s back-
ground in chemical engineering.
“The experimental mash bills and
fi nishing casks Dave brought to
the table will continue to shine in
future WhistlePig releases this year
and beyond.”One such experiment, the Piggy-
Back Rye 6 Year was born to be
a bartender’s prize for cocktails, or
serving neat, while the 10 Year, 12
Year and 15 Year have seen more
time in barrel than any other Ameri-
can whiskey brand. “It’s a joy to be
building upon the incredible foun-
dation that Dave created here,
expanding the distillery and see-
ing the WhistlePig dream continue
to come to life in real time,” says
Distillery Manager, Emily Harrison,
who operates two stills a day and
continues the WhistlePig heritage
of straight rye whiskey while exper-
imenting with other grain distillates
for future creations. “Beyond
making the best rye whiskey possible
today, Dave was always looking to
the future and what’s next for Whis-
tlePig. Our commitment is to keep
that vision alive.”Guided by the
SPIRIT OF A LEGEND
Dave Pickerell’s loyal young team of distillers
usher in WhistlePig’s next chapter
SPECIAL PROMOTION