Whiskey Barrel Sidewalls

It’s no secret that our team here at SKImag.com loves both skiing and whiskey. To be honest, skiing bell-to-bell and sipping whiskey during après is an ideal way for us to enjoy any day of the week. So when Parlor Custom Skis announced that they are making limited edition planks in collaboration with WhistlePig Rye Whiskey, our ears perked up.

Parlor Skis, founded by three diehard skiers in a former funeral parlor in Massachusetts, makes 100 percent custom skis built entirely in Massachusetts. Last year, they teamed up with WhistlePig, a Shoreham, Vermont-based distillery, to create custom skis for the whiskey company’s staff. WhistlePig wanted to do something to honor the the time when the staves used for aging whiskey were broken down into primitive skis to slide on snow with, so Parlor incorporated actual wood from WhistlePig’s whiskey barrels into the sidewalls of the skis. The result was so cool, Parlor decided to make these whiskey barrel sidewalls available to the public this season.

For the first run of only 25 pairs, Parlor is creating custom skis with whiskey stave sidewalls that were actually used in the aging process of WhistlePigs’ The Boss Hog, and a unique graphic. To sweeten the deal, the two companies put together a package that includes the skis and a bottle of The Boss Hog 5th Edition, a barrel-strength rye whiskey that spent 13 years aging in Calvados casks.

Read More: Whiskey on the Run

While we haven’t tried the whiskey or compared the performance of whiskey barrel sidewalls with ABS sidewalls, it’s easy to see that both companies care a lot about their products, so we expect good things. And while the $2,000 price tag for the ski/whiskey combo might seem a little expensive, we can’t think of better bragging rights than skiing all day on skis built with the same wood that our après beverage was aged in. You can find more info about the skis Parlor’s website, or you can snag a pair at the WhistlePig Tasting Room in Waterbury, Vt.