Raj Bhakta is likely one of the most colourful personalities within the spirits world. And I do know this from private expertise. I frolicked with him for a couple of days at his model campus/booze camp in Vermont, Bhakta-Griswold. A part of my time spent there concerned a deep dive on this latest providing, Hogsworth. Because the founding father of the profitable WhistlePig model, Raj clearly has an affinity for swine, however the title is supposed to be greater than only a play on his pig-inspired previous. In his cigar smoke-filled workplace, surrounded by spirits journalists from throughout the nation, he emphasised that the title was his attraction to the brown spirits-lovers of the world bored with paying an excessive amount of for too little. He wished them to “get their ‘hogsworth.’”
So, what precisely does that entail? It’s not bourbon. Not less than not fully. Raj’s second profession within the spirits world noticed him shift from a deal with rye whiskey to largely Armagnac. In reality, he purchased a chateau in Gascony and claims to supervise one of many largest classic brandy libraries on the planet. His Bhakta label has adorned a number of limited-release, single classic brandies (and different obscure however spectacular spirits). With Hogsworth, Bhakta is introducing a little bit of Armagnac to the bourbon-loving public.
We missed out on the inaugural launch in 2024 which launched with a little bit of risqué advertising and marketing that’s fully unsurprising given Bhakta’s colourful previous (Google him). For this second batch, the mix has modified (much less Armagnac) and the scantily dressed farmgirls aren’t the one label choice (Batch 2 seems to be largely adorned with well-dressed pigs). The contents embrace two sourced bourbons that hover round five-years-old (60% of the mix) and three totally different classic Armagnacs, together with a small quantity of a 42-year-old 1982 launch, comprising the opposite 40%. Let’s take this little piggy for a spin, we could?
On the nostril, the Armagnac does loads to raise the youthful bourbon with notes of golden raisin, new leather-based, and grape should using atop undertones of caramel sweet, creamed corn, and contemporary oak. There’s a country and erratic high quality initially to the aroma, however with time to open issues coalesce considerably into a mixture of caramel apple and darkish baking spice.
The identical eventual steadiness is much less evident on the palate which is sharp initially, kicking off with the sort of wood-driven astringency you’d count on from two very totally different, punchy spirits. That subsides considerably into sweeter notes that also retain a little bit of tannin and astringency: Demerara syrup and torched sugar, well-baked pear tart and licorice. The mouthfeel is mild and silky and nice when the softer, fruitier notes discover their bearing.
A peppery, warming midpalate interrupts that transient concord, muddling issues with an excessive amount of ginger and chili flake, earlier than returning on the end to a mixture of orchard fruits, butterscotch, and sandalwood that lasts simply lengthy sufficient to make me marvel how an older bourbon would possibly fare within the mix or much less Armagnac (or higher but, simply an Armagnac end). It’s definitely in contrast to anything available on the market proper now, and whereas it exhibits some promise, I personally wouldn’t substitute it for my favourite $50 bourbon.
93.8 proof.
B / $50
Hogsworth Batch 2
USD50
