Feather & Flame Straight Rye Whiskey Review

WhistlePig’s annual The Boss Hog is as much an exercise in finished rye as it is in international flavor exchange. Indeed, recent editions have featured finishing barrels that either held (or took flavor inspiration from) liquids ranging from Thandai to “aromatic resin” and Greek fig nectar. And while the taste inspirations crisscross the globe, the core goal remains the same: layering eclectic flavors on top of well-aged rye to create a dram unlike anything else under the sun.

For the 2025 release — its 12th Boss Hog — WhistlePig has turned its sights to Mexico. There, the company’s blending team took inspiration from two local and historic drinks. The first is pulque, an ancient beverage made from fermented agave sap. The second is xocolatl, a similarly storied beverage made with cacao beans and chili, in many ways a forerunner to modern chocolate drinks.

To fuse these flavors into rye whiskey, WhistlePig created seasoned Pulque Curado de Cacao barrels utilizing agave, cacao, and a trio of Chiptepín, Guajillo, and Pasilla peppers. The barrels were then filled with mature rye whiskey sourced from Indiana’s MGP. After a secondary maturation, the individual Pulque Curado de Cacao barrels were bottled at a range between 104.8 and 108.4 proof.

The sample reviewed comes from Barrel #10 and is bottled at 104.8 proof.