New whiskeys hit the market all the time. There are one-offs never to be seen again, and annual releases that draw a cult following. But few bottles garner as much attention as WhistlePig’s The Boss Hog. The Vermont distiller puts out this whiskey each fall, with 2026 marking its 13th edition.
The Boss Hog has become a collector’s item due partly to scarcity but also because each release features an entirely new aging process. This year’s release, dubbed “The Golden Pharaoh,” is one of their wildest expressions yet.
The Boss Hog XIII: The Golden Pharaoh
The Boss Hog XIII: The Golden Pharaoh is a rye whiskey inspired by ancient Egypt. It’s also the first whiskey to be aged in American oak and then finished in barrels that were seasoned with Egyptian black honey and tiger nuts.
“Through our research, we came across a tiger nut cake recipe carved into the side of a tomb dating back more than 3,000 years. We learned that tiger nuts and black honey were a true taste of the Egyptian land and its people, and that really resonated with us,” explains Meghan Ireland, WhistlePig’s head blender.
They then got to work recreating the recipe on their Vermont farm and fell in love with the flavor combination. That led the WhistlePig team to experiment with the finishing barrels for this year’s The Boss Hog to see what those flavors could do to the brand’s rye whiskey. The Golden Pharaoh is the result.
Black honey and tiger nuts have a long history in Egyptian cuisine and culture. And in the case of the Golden Pharaoh, they add a lot of rich, earthy sweetness and aromatic depth to the whiskey. It’s big and spicy on the nose, with notes of brown sugar, toasted almonds, baking spices and some mild fruit. The palate brings flavors of rich molasses, cinnamon spice and black pepper, and it all finishes with lots of warmth, more nuts and some dry oak. Bottled between 102.6 and 105.6 proof, it’s boozy but not overly hot, and the sweet backbone of molasses and honey tames some of the spicy and peppery notes.
How to buy it
The Golden Pharaoh is available now for pre-sale and launches nationwide on September 29. It retails for $599.99, which is a lot of money. But hey, how often do you drink whiskey inspired by a 3,000-year-old recipe on an Egyptian tomb? And in addition to the unique juice, you also get a unique bottle. It comes in a sturdy box that rotates to reveal the bottle, and the heavy pewter topper is, once again, your favorite pig, but this time inspired by King Tut.
After scoring the new Boss Hog for yourself, the only question is whether to open it and enjoy the contents, or to display it proudly. We think you can do both.
