Spirits maverick Raj Peter Bhakta tells BourbonBlog.com that Bhakta Spirits is launching Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9 (SRP $50), the first release of an entirely new brand portfolio.
Hogsworth marries America’s best bourbons with exquisite Armagnacs from France—some over forty years old. Older, richer, more complex. “This is what it means to get your Hogsworth.”
Only 1,700 limited edition sets of Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9 will be released online. In fact, our own Bourbon expert Tom Fischer was impressed when he was among the first to taste the new Hogsworth Blend with Raj Bhakta during a visit earlier this year to the BHAKTA-Griswold in Poultney, Vermont. (photo of Raj and Tom pictured below).
Raj Bhakta, the revolutionary drinks entrepreneur who founded BHAKTA Spirits and WhistlePig Whiskey—the latter of which he built into the most successful American whiskey brand since Prohibitiom, still has that “magic pig” in him.
“I created WhistlePig Whiskey, sold it, and severed all ties. But I remained fond of pigs. My work felt incomplete—and American whiskey needs a shakeup,” says Bhakta. “So I present Hogsworth.
Breakdown of the Hogworth: The Bourbon and Armagnac Blend
● 52% Bourbon, 48% Armagnac
● Average Age of 9.4 Years
● Blend Specifics:
o 42%: 2019 Tennessee Bourbon (4 years, five months old)
o 10%: 2019 Minnesota Bourbon (4 years old)
o 22%: 2012 French Armagnac (11 years old)
o 21%: 2010 French Armagnac (13 years old)
o 5%: 1982 French Armagnac (42 years old)
Tasting Notes:
● Nose: Honey, crème brûlée, baking spices, ginger snap
● Palate: Chai, green apple, black pepper, orange zest
● Finish: A firm business handshake with oak spice, marmalade, and vanilla bean
Beyond age, complexity, and collectability,Hogsworth’s $50 value proposition is all the more astounding for the DNA it shares with its aristocratic cousins from BHAKTA’s House of Vintages. Each bottle of Hogsworth contains BHAKTA 1982 Armagnac (SRP $309).
Bred from the same ancient gene pool of the world’s oldest spirits, Bhakta Spirits tells us that “Hogsworth spreads the wealth of its brood in the name of a fair shake for all—and Raj Peter Bhakta appears as determined as ever to redistribute the riches at Robin Hood prices.”
More About Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9 (SRP $50)
Weighing in at an average age of 9.4 years, Hogsworth is a blend of 52% Bourbon Whiskey from the 2019 vintage and 48% Armagnac from the 1982, 2010, and 2012 vintages.
This is no typical straight bourbon or rye.
Bhakta Spirits tells, “American drinkers, tired of being hogtied by high prices and swarmed by the same boring Big Alcohol brands, are in no mood for the ‘typical’ This is an uncommonly hefty addition to the whiskey shelf, Hogsworth blends the brawn of American bourbon with the elegance of ancient French Armagnac—delivering deep age, outrageous value, and a damn good time.”
(Peter Lynch, Master Blender BHAKTA Spirits and Raj Bhakta pictured below)
The Story Behind “Hogsworth” Explained:
Whether at the grocery store, gas pump, tax bill, or ballot box, Americans simply aren’t “getting their Hogsworth.” An entire nation cries out for fairness—and a noble hog has emerged to heed the call. He carries a scale of justice.
He has taken measure of the swine in our midst. He has found them to be lacking in heft.
And this honorable hog has promised to do what he can to battle the big heist and balance the scales, starting in his own little corner of the world.
Even if only the liquor aisle. Because at least there, he vows, all Americans ought to start getting their Hogsworth again.
How To Get A Bottle or Set
Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9’s initial release will be offered online-only as a limited edition, with 3-bottle collections priced at $150.
Consumers will have the chance to select their collection from three distinct label sets:
- Modern Farm
- Vintage Women
- Historical Pigure
This is a series featuring the work of fashion photographer Carter Berg, the product of a weeks-long hunt-and-wrangle which saw Bhakta and his team trek through dense Vermont woodlands in pursuit of a hog iconic enough to grace Batch 1’s labels.
Bhakta Spirits tells us that Berg also led a parallel casting call for both the hog and human models.
The Rarity and Reason to Collect Now
Bhakta tells us “The initial scarce, limited edition release of Hogsworth Batch 1 Blend #9 parallels that of his early WhistlePig Boss Hog bottlings. First offered at $130, Boss Hog has
since attained unimaginable cult status among collectors. Early bottles now regularly sell for up to $20,000.
It is the finest bottle you’ll find, at even ten times the price. Taste and see.”
After recently returning to rye with BHAKTA 2013 Straight Rye Whiskey (SRP $149) and BHAKTA 1928 (SRP $69), it was only a matter of time before Raj Bhakta says he wanted resumed his unfinished business with pigs.
“Consider Hogsworth the great equalizer. It tips the scales back to fairness, daring all competitors to measure up. It opposes boredom at every turn. It defies inflation with an
exuberant oink.
Americans shall be squeezed no more—at least not in the spirits aisle. Because in these unbalanced times, everyone deserves to get their Hogsworth.”
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