The launch comes on the heels of a number of aged releases, with The Béhôlden (aged 21 years) in 2023 and The Badönkådonk (aged 25 years) in 2024.
Today (3 September, 2025), WhistlePig released fewer than four barrels of The BigShǝBàng, which it claims to be North America’s first 30-year aged single-malt whiskey.
Far from the famous hills of Kentucky’s Bourbon County, the WhistlePig distillery is ensconced on a 200-ha farm in Vermont. Surrounded by rye and experimental grains, WhistlePig aims to create farm-to-bottle whiskeys. With the focus on America’s original whiskey, made from rye, the distillers and blenders at WhistlePig aim to take American rye to new heights in terms of barrel age.
The distiller’s new release has spent 30 years in American oak, followed by four weeks’ secondary ageing in Vin Santo barrels. An Italian dessert wine that is prized and known for its long ageing in barrel.
‘We’ve been hunting down Vin Santo barrels for a few years now, and the stars finally aligned with a precious few to finish this inaugural release,’ said Meghan Ireland, chief blender at WhistlePig. ‘As with many of our most elusive casks, they’ve proved to be a catalyst for complexity.’
Vin Santo, largely made in Tuscany, is renowned for its complexity, and while the ageing and dried berries used in the wine play a role, many say it’s all about the barrels. The smaller casks called caratelli are kept for many years, and over time develop yeasts unique to the barrel, referred to as ‘mother’ or ‘madre’ yeast. These result in unique styles for each producer, from dry to sweet.
Like Vin Santo, often only sold at the winery’s cellar, The BigShǝBàng is only available at the WhistlePig Vault in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as at a very limited number of fine whiskey bars throughout the US.
‘This is unlike anything we’ve ever put in a bottle,’ said Ireland.
Each single-barrel bottle is 90.4 proof (45.2% abv), with a 100% malted barley mashbill and a retail price of $4,999.
