2019 WhistlePig The Boss Hog VI The Samurai Scientist Katakana Edition Straight Rye Whiskey 750ml

WhistlePig The Boss Hog VI - The Samurai Scientist Katakana Edition is a special label variant of the 2019 standard release. The Katakana Edition is a 1,000-bottle limited run of the same Straight Rye Whiskey, distinguished by Japanese-language packaging - the front label uses Japanese script and the standard silver pewter topper is swapped for a black topper. Every other production detail matches the standard VI: 16-Year Canadian-sourced rye finished in Japanese Umeshu plum-wine barrels and bottled at cask strength (range 120-122 by barrel), 100% rye mash bill.

The Boss Hog is WhistlePig's annual experimental release - the distillery's outlet for its rarest, most extreme single-barrel rye each year. Every release follows what WhistlePig calls its promises (later expanded to its "X Commandments"): single barrel, bottled at proof, distinctly different from anything else in the lineup, fearlessly first, and irreverently inventive. Toppers are hand-cast in Danforth pewter, and each year's release has its own theme - sometimes tribute to a pig in the WhistlePig family, sometimes a historical figure, sometimes a region or tradition the team traveled to study.

The Samurai Scientist was the first American whiskey ever finished in Japanese Umeshu casks - a collaboration with Kitaya Brewery on Japan's Kyushu island. WhistlePig shipped empty rye barrels to Japan where Kitaya filled them with Umeshu (Japanese plum wine) for a month; the casks were then shipped back to WhistlePig Farm in Vermont where the rye went back into the Umeshu-seasoned barrels for one final month before bottling. The release honors Dr. Jokichi Takamine - the Japanese chemist who introduced koji fermentation to the American whiskey industry in the 19th century - whose portrait adorns each bottle. The Katakana Edition leans into the Japanese collaboration with fully translated packaging.

On the nose, it shows mature Canadian rye layered with plum, stone fruit, and gentle spice. The palate brings deep rye character, plum-driven sweetness from the Umeshu, baking spice, and integrated oak, and the finish carries a long, dried-fruit close with sustained spice.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 120-122 (ABV Varies)
• Age: 16 Year Old
• Origin: Sourced Canadian rye / Finished and bottled Shoreham, Vermont
• Distillery: WhistlePig Farm Distillery