Peg Leg Porker 8 Year Old Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey Review

About – Peg Leg Porker is produced in Nashville, Tennessee by Carey Bringle who owns a famous Nashville BBQ establishment with the same name.The bourbon is sourced from George Dickel. This is the second lot of Peg Leg Porker that has been released with the age differentiating the two. What sets Peg Leg Porker apart from other bourbon according to Bringle is their Hickory charcoal filtering process as opposed to maple used by other Tennessee Whiskies. This release, aged for 8 years in new white oak barrels and bottled at 90 proof, won a gold medal at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. If you are curious where the name Peg Leg Porker comes from there is a story behind it. At 17, Nashville native Carey Bringle was diagnosed with Osteogenic Sarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer and after months of intensive chemotherapy, Carey lost his right leg. He emerged from that experience with a new perspective and outlook building his Peg Leg Porker brand to show his zest for life, sense of humor and love of great food and spirits.

Appearance – I don’t usually comment on appearance, but in this case I had to because of how unique it is. This whiskey has a truly reddish color to it that Bringle attributes to his unique hickory filtering process.

Nose – The first thing that comes through is vanilla, next what opens up is a floral aroma, followed by honey like sweetness.

Palate – Well integrated at first with no one flavor jumping out, there is a subdued note of the standard bourbon spice, there is a cloying sweetness to the bourbon taking on notes of vanilla and baking spice as it develops.

Finish – At first this bourbon has what seems like a fairly short and clean finish, but then it really lingers around for a good while leaving you with a nice smoky, toasted flavor that because of its uniqueness I am going to attribute to the hickory filtering.

Score – A

Verdict – This is definitely not your standard Tennessee Whiskey and different from your standard bourbon as well. I was skeptical about the difference the hickory filtering process would make in the end product, but it really does give this bourbon some unique qualities especially in the appearance and finish. I would highly recommend this bourbon to anyone. As of right now it is only being sold in Tennessee, but will expanding to other markets in the near future. If you see it on the shelf at your local store pick up a bottle as this is one that is sure not to disappoint.