WhistlePig’s annual Boss Hog release keeps getting weirder and weirder, but ultimately that’s a good thing for people who are interested in whiskey innovation. The cask finish on this high-priced, instant collector’s item rye whiskey changes from year to year, and the 2022 edition might just be the most unusual yet.

A few years ago, I might have said the same thing about WhistlePig’s Boss Hog VII: Magellan’s Atlantic, which was finished in Spanish oak and South American teakwood. Two years later, Boss Hog IX: Siren’s Song has arrived, a single-barrel, sourced rye whiskey that brings that previous oddity to mind as far as flavor, and it both confounds and satisfies. The whiskey represents a journey from Canada (where it was distilled) to Vermont (where the WhistlePig farm and distillery is located) to Greece (which inspired the cask finishes employed). That last step is quite unusual—the whiskey was finished in barrels seasoned with Greek fig nectar and Tentura, a Greek-style liqueur that was made onsite, for one week each.

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According to head blender Meghan Ireland and head of whiskey development Liz Rhoades, the Greek nectar used to season a barrel was similar to a concentrate, a non-barrel-aged syrup made from Greek figs. They came up with the Tentura recipe based on studying that tradition in its homeland. “This included making our own ‘Farm-ily’ recipe—hence ‘farm-scratch,’” the two told Robb Report. “Keeping with the…