Yes, There Really Is A Whiskey Aged With David Ortiz's Baseball Bats
Making a good whiskey takes some serious time. According to Smithsonian Magazine, whiskey actually only takes a few days to make but takes much longer to develop its signature flavors. Toasted oak barrels traditionally get filled with the young liquor, and the less-than-desirable tasting portions of the drink stick to the interior of the container. Meanwhile, the barrels infuse the spirit with vanilla, woody, and buttery undertones.
This traditional method has created some great whiskey over the years, but distillers have found some other very unique ways to infuse this beverage with extra flavor. Liquor reports that some clever spirit makers have aged their drinks using salt, at sea, underwater, and even in space. One brandy maker even took their drink production to the next level and found a way to age the booze in a chemical reactor. Another company now aims to create a brand new take on whiskey and intends to age the liquor with a very unique item from one of baseball's legends.
Here's what whiskey aged with a bat tastes like
Food & Wine reports that whiskey maker WhistlePig has a new line of spirits coming out that will be aged with toasted baseball bats used by David Ortiz. The company claims that the spirit ranks as the very first whiskey to age with bats, and Ortiz worked hand in hand with the company developing the drinks. The liquor hits shelves branded as WhistlePig PiggyBack Legends Series: Big Papi Barrel, and marks the first of three limited-edition runs of the beverage.
The whiskey hasn't sat alongside the bats during the entire aging process. The rye whiskey sat in oak barrels for six years before being moved to barrels with toasted bats for six weeks. The baseball bats were also treated in a particular way to ensure maximum flavor, and allegedly add in notes of spice and caramel to the spirit, besides making it truly a one-of-a-kind offering.
WhistlePig has started selling pre-orders of the rye whiskey for $49.99, and also plans to team up with other players from different sports later this year, though there have been no official announcements. In the meantime, Ortiz fans can plan to pick up an autographed bottle of the whiskey for $340; the proceeds of which will go to children needing heart surgery. This innovation in whiskey maturation pushes some serious boundaries, and it looks like it's only a matter of time before distillers start including golf clubs and footballs in signature new products.