WhistlePig's New 'Non-Whiskey' Helps Bartenders Weather Dry January

January has become synonymous with the phrase "New Year, New Me." Folks are suddenly looking for ways to kickstart their health goals by meditating, journaling, joining the gym, or cutting out fast foods. Some people will even participate in Dry January, which means cutting out all alcoholic beverages for the entire month. Yes, even beer.

Per Good Housekeeping, there are many benefits to going dry in January. For instance, removing all alcohol from your diet is said to improve your overall mood, decrease bloating within the body, and even boost your immune system. And while cutting alcohol consumption in January may be an annual tradition that can help improve your health, there is one drawback — it's not the best month to be a bartender. Fewer people drinking equates to fewer customers at the bar, and that means a smaller paycheck for the bar staff. Thankfully, the acclaimed whiskey brand, WhistlePig, has come up with a fitting and generous solution.

With its PiggyBack Devil's Slide rye, WhistlePig has created a beverage that's suitable for those participating in Dry January. According to Food & Wine, the PiggyBack Devil's Slide is claimed to be the first 100% rye-aged non-whiskey beverage on the market, containing almost no alcoholic content. The whiskey alternative is about 0.5% ABV, is distilled from 100% rye, and aged for six years at the WhistlePig Farm and Distillery before, per WhistlePig's Instagram post, being "undistilled to a uniquely quaffable aged non-whiskey." 

PiggyBack Devil's Slide is described as a beverage that not only lives up to the standards that have become synonymous with the WhistlePig brand, but also boasts complex and bold flavors. The brand's whiskey blender, Meghan Ireland, shares, "We made the Devil's Slide, a limited edition of our flagship PiggyBack 100-percent Rye, to support their resolutions, give back to the bartenders who will miss them, and to challenge expectations on the level of craft and quality a non-alc can deliver," (via Food & Wine).

So, how are bartenders benefitting from this innovative beverage? WhistlePig states in its Instagram post that 100% of the proceeds from the Devil's Slide will go toward the United States Bartenders' Guild in an effort to provide support to the hospitality industry which was hit especially hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that's something to whistle about.