(Photo: WhistlePig)
On Tuesday, WhistlePig Whiskey revved up a collaboration with F1 racer Valtteri Bottas toasting his team, gin brand and irreverent sense of humor.
Paying homage to the Finnish driver's team of two years, the new KICK Sauber Single Barrel begins life as a rye whiskey aged six years in new American oak. The spirit is then finished in Bottas' OΛTH Gin barrels. Launched in 2023 by the racer and Olympic cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, the gin is vacuum-distilled with oats and apple peels that imbue a distinctive sweet and peppery taste.
WhistlePig says that the marriage of these two spirits results in a final product brimming with crisp apple flavor and gentle pine undertones. The Single Barrel is bottled at 100.77, a nod to Bottas' racing number, 77, and is now available online at a suggested retail price of $59.99.
"I’m excited to once again join G-forces with WhistlePig as our team’s official whiskey partner," Bottas remarked in a news release. "While an unusual blend, the PiggyBack Rye and OΛTH Gin make a strong team – a thrilling Ryed from lights out to the checkered flag. Drink it slow while I drive fast, and enjoy the ryed."
Frequently eager to one-up itself, the brand has also announced that it will stake $1.77 million on KICK Sauber's odds in the 2024 season. When we say "stake $1.77 million," we don't mean that WhistlePig figuratively invested that money into the bottling — rather, the brand is literally betting $1.77 million of its profits from the bottling on the imminent F1 season, set to conclude on Dec. 8.
Whether or not its latest Single Barrel can recoup the potential loss is yet to be seen.
Fans eager to learn more about the release can find a tongue-in-cheek Ted Talk parody titled "BO Talks." Like a Geico ad, the video has seemingly little to do with its topic of interest until the halfway point, at which time Bottas is seen caressing a barrel and sipping a signature cocktail. Dressed in a dark green suit, the driver intones: "Great racing equals fast... great whiskey equals slow."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG44IrH5JCY
Collectors can also pick up a $169.99 bundle that includes a Bottas-signed bottle and a PiggyBack 100% Rye.
The brand last dipped its toes into the racing circuit alongside Alfa Romeo — the previous name for team KICK Sauber — last September. The whiskey was finished with an unusual combination of lychee and oolong tea in honor of Zhou Guanyu, the first Chinese F1 driver. In keeping with the flashy schtick of many a WhistlePig release, barrels were reportedly trialed in the team's wind tunnel before being "exposed to varying levels of G-Forces." Our in-house spirits critic remarked that the bottling was "one of the craziest ryes" he'd ever tasted.
Check out our video on that release here or read the review here.
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