03 Jan Liquor Review: Wigle’s Deep Cut Rye

Liquor Review: Wigle’s Deep Cut Rye

The arrival of an unexpected package at the office is always a moment of great anticipation. Sure, most of the time it’s an insurance policy renewal to review, but every once in a while it’s Wigle’s seasonal sample. Most recently, we especially hit the jackpot; not only was it a Wigle delivery, but of full-sized bottles instead of samples. And what full bottles! Walkabout Apple Whiskey, one of our favorite Wigle products, which we’ll surely talk about more later, was one of them. The other was Deep Cut Rye, a cask-strength, two-year rye.

Deep Cut is intended to be a rye whiskey at peak rye, and it succeeds. While the nose contain hints of rich fruit and almond, the flavor is all a peppery grain. We’re used to high proof spirits having an extra bite to them, Deep Cut’s cask strength–our bottle was a whopping 59.1% abv–actually smooths it out and deepens its flavors, while still declaring loudly, ‘This is made from rye grain.’ The upfront pepperiness lingers a bit, and then eventually gives way to a dry, toasted finish. We found the finish too prominent when we tried the whiskey neat, but warm and enticing, if not exactly friendly, when we added a single cube of ice.

This is a whiskey meant to be sipped straight, but we can’t help who we are. We are mixologists; so we mix. We found it to be a particularly suitable companion to the Maurin vermouth in our New Orleans rye drinks. It also makes an absolutely luscious high-vermouth Manhattan when matched with Yzaguirre Rojo Reserva. Splurging on both the whiskey and the vermouth isn’t something you can do everyday, but this pair made for quite the special treat.