WhistlePig Opens New Distillery, Goes Grain To Glass

WhistlePig announced the official, operational opening of its distillery on Wednesday, October 14. Located in a converted century old barn on the WhistlePig Farm in Shoreham, Vermont, the distillery will make WhistlePig one of the few American whiskey companies to base the entire whiskey-making process in one place, from harvesting rye in the 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.

The opening of the distillery marks the culmination of a five year effort to transform WhistlePig from a bottler of rye whiskey stock sourced from Canada and Indiana into a distillery. Many companies in America’s burgeoning craft distilling sector have made that transition, but by going grain-to-glass WhistlePig is taking the process a step up. Dozens of craft distilleries proudly claim to rely on locally sourced grain, but only a handful around the world rely, even partly, on grain grown on their own property.

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 some of the barrels used to age the rye.

“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.”