WhistlePig has made a reputation for itself with daring, experimental whiskey, and its newest restricted launch is not any exception. In a stunning summer season collaboration, the Vermont distillery teamed up with Liquid Loss of life Mountain Water to create GraveStock, a wheat whiskey proofed with canned mountain water and aged in custom-built coffin barrels.
It’s half craft spirit, half advertising and marketing mischief, however behind the skulls and slogans is a genuinely attention-grabbing whiskey. Listed below are three surprising stuff you in all probability didn’t find out about one in every of 2025’s strangest (and smoothest) releases.
1. It’s Proofed With Liquid Loss of life’s Mountain Water
One of the crucial uncommon issues about GraveStock is the way it’s proofed. In whiskey manufacturing, “proofing” is the method of including water to cask-strength spirit to deliver it all the way down to bottling power. Most distilleries use their very own water supply, however for this launch, WhistlePig turned to their collaborators, Liquid Loss of life.
As a substitute of utilizing Vermont spring water, GraveStock was diluted utilizing Liquid Loss of life’s mountain-sourced water, the identical water they’ll and promote below the slogan “Homicide Your Thirst.” It’d sound like a gimmick, however the alternative was deliberate.
In keeping with Liquid Loss of life’s VP of Advertising, many bottled waters are simply processed municipal faucet water. Against this, Liquid Loss of life sources from real American mountain springs. That purity, they are saying, provides a layer of high quality, not simply perspective.
So whereas it matches the irreverent branding, this proofing resolution additionally performs a job within the whiskey’s remaining character. It’s not simply water in a can, it’s a part of the liquid’s story, and a key element that units GraveStock aside from different summer season releases.
2. It Aged in 380-Gallon Coffin Barrels
GraveStock’s getting old course of is as over-the-top as its label, but it surely’s not all for present. The whiskey began life in conventional new American oak barrels, the place it matured like most WhistlePig releases. However for its remaining stretch, it was transferred into custom-built 380-gallon oak foeders carved within the form of coffins.
To place that in perspective, normal whiskey barrels maintain round 53 gallons. These coffin-shaped giants are greater than seven occasions the scale, and are believed to be the primary of their sort within the whiskey world.
WhistlePig’s Head Blender Meghan Eire described the idea as a “bucket listing experiment” and stated the staff “actually went massive on it.” Past the apparent visible assertion, the purpose was to see how the distinctive quantity and form would possibly affect the whiskey’s improvement.
Bigger vessels expose the spirit to much less floor space of oak per gallon, typically leading to a softer, slower end. In GraveStock’s case, that gave the wheat whiskey further nuance with out overwhelming it. The coffin wasn’t only a prop, it was the whiskey’s remaining resting place, and it left a mark.
3. It’s Really a Wheat Whiskey, Not a Rye
WhistlePig is greatest identified for its daring rye whiskeys, so the choice to make GraveStock a wheat whiskey would possibly come as a shock. This restricted launch leans closely on wheat within the mashbill, what the distillery calls a “excessive (practically all) wheat whiskey”, with simply sufficient rye so as to add a refined kick.
Wheat whiskeys are typically softer, sweeter, and extra approachable than their rye or bourbon counterparts, and that’s precisely the vibe right here. GraveStock delivers delicate notes of honeysuckle, caramel, and biscotti, adopted by a delicate end of black pepper and butterscotch. It’s clean and mellow, designed for sipping neat on a scorching day or mixing right into a fizzy highball.
Regardless of the coffin barrels and death-themed branding, the whiskey itself is surprisingly gentle on the palate. WhistlePig clearly meant it as a summer season pour, not a stunt bottle. Whether or not you’re sipping it straight or constructing a “DeathBall” cocktail with Liquid Loss of life mixers, the wheat base provides this launch a softer edge, including yet one more surprising twist to the collaboration.
GraveStock would possibly seem like a advertising and marketing stunt, but it surely’s greater than only a intelligent label. From coffin-shaped barrels to mountain spring water proofing, this one-off launch blends actual craftsmanship with tongue-in-cheek aptitude. It’s gentle, clean, and constructed for summer season, whether or not you sip it straight or combine up a DeathBall. Both manner, it gained’t be round eternally, so now’s the time to boost a glass to the surprising.
