No, your eyes are not deceiving you, with spiked seltzer consumption on the rise, WhistlePig is throwing its name into the spiked ring, and I’m your referee. I love whiskey, but spiked seltzer is my go-to summer drink.

I was able to try these Labor Day Weekend at a BBQ when a friend with connections brought along some samples he had been given. Thanks Brian! Ok, first off, these do not contain whiskey which surprised me due to the name.

Using rye grown from the WhistlePig Farm they make a rye grain-based beverage to create the seltzer. They then barrel age the fruit in WhistlePig whiskey barrels. From this, you get subtle hints of rye throughout the seltzer. Those hints are just that, hints of rye but the liquid itself is loaded of natural fruit flavor. The fruit flavoring is not artificial and the drink itself is rather refreshing.

(Note: The first picture below was one I took first from the samples I drank this weekend and don’t reflect what you will see in stores. Store cans/package pictures are the ones you see after my main picture)

To create this product WhistlePig teamed up with Harpoon Brewery and are currently only available in Vermont, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts for a test run. There are three flavors to choose from, Ginger Lime, Citrus Mint and Blackberry Lemon. Each has an abv of 8% and will be sold in 12oz packs of four at a cost of $17.99. That means you are essentially paying $4.49 a can. This is high when it comes to spiked seltzers. Their reasoning behind the cost, the small-batch rye farm-to-can aspect, as well as the aging of the fruit. Not to mention 8%!!

You are probably rolling your eyes at this price, but think about this, if you like spiked seltzer, I will venture to guess that you’ve had bad tasting seltzers at a lower cost. Personally, I’m willing to spend a bit more if the product is good. So, is it good? My thoughts below:

Session Citrus Lime: This is reminiscent to a mojito. Very refreshing. Right of the can you get hints of rye but, if you pour over ice it’s more like a mojito. The ice helps balance both the citrus and mint notes.

Fresh Ginger Lime: This tastes like a Moscow Mule. You also get more rye drinking it straight out of the can. Over ice those notes go away and you get hit with loads of ginger.

Blackberry Lemon Fizz: The flavor that most reminds me of a spiked seltzer. It’s also the one I prefer without ice. The ice mellows down the flavoring.

Out of the three, my favorite was the Blackberry Lemon Fizz. On it’s own because you get loads of berry and rye notes. What I enjoyed the most, how natural the flavoring was on all three. After you finish you don’t get a bad after taste like many mass produced seltzer’s out there. So, if you ask me, the natural flavoring of these make them well worth it. 

Cheers!

Note: The contents on my blog are solely my opinion. To me every palate is different! Although I may or may not like a product, I always recommend for people to try it and make up their own minds

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