WhistlePig is proud to announce the opening of its brand-new distillery in a converted 100-year-old barn on the WhistlePig Farm in Shoreham, Vermont. The distillery will make WhistlePig one of the few American whiskey companies to conduct the entire whiskey-making process in one place, from harvesting the rye fields to distilling, barreling, aging, and bottling the liquid.
“WhistlePig is committed to bringing the world unparalleled rye whiskeys, and with our distillery up and running, we’ll be a truly rare grain-to-glass operation,” said WhistlePig Founder and CEO Raj Peter Bhakta. “We’re restoring rye, America’s original spirit, as our country’s signature drink, and we’re doing it in Vermont, a home to rye production since colonial days.”
WhistlePig is the leader in the rapidly growing American rye whiskey market, and the opening of the distillery marks the culmination of its 5-year effort to transform WhistlePig Farm into the nation’s premier single-estate, grain-to-glass rye distillery.
Rye makes it easy for WhistlePig to stand at the forefront of sustainable agriculture. WhistlePig grows its own rye on its farm, which is a naturally sustainable crop that needs very little fertilization. Pigs are fed the spent rye grain so it doesn’t end up as waste, and oak trees logged on the farm are turned into barrels to age the rye. The grain-to-glass whiskey production process requires closer attention to both the cultivation of the crop and the distillation of the spirit than is common in whiskey companies, and enables maximum quality control.
“The on-site distillery opens doors to new opportunities for WhistlePig,” said Master Distiller Dave Pickerell. “The new distillery will enable us to continue perfecting our world-class rye whiskey.”