Q&A With Raj Bhakta

A Chat With The Founder of Vermont Bottler And Distiller WhistlePig

By Kurt Maitland

WhistlePig Founder Raj Bhakta
(Credit: WhistlePig)

Recently I was fortunate enough to take a trip to Vermont and see WhistlePig’s recently opened distillery, cementing the first step in their transition from bottler to distiller. That visit led to a later discussion with WhistlePig founder Raj Bhatka.

Between corresponding with Bhatka for this piece and it’s publication, he has since found himself immersed in a legal struggle against two members of his board for control of the company, one that has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years. How that struggle, now playing out in a Delaware courthouse, will end is a matter for speculation, but I think it makes what Bhatka said about the future of WhistlePig more, not less, interesting.

KM: All good things start with a plan. Your first five year plan has come to fruition. You’ve gone from buying WhistlePig Farm and developing the WhistlePig brand to installing what we hope will be the first of many more stills. What will the next five years have in store for you and the brand?

RB: The next five years will be about taking craft whiskey to an entirely new level with the world’s only true seed-bottle operation. We will distill our grain, age the whiskey in wood from our own 700 acres of forest and surrounding areas, and use our own well water in the process. The result is going to change the game.

KM: Can you talk to us about WhistlePig’s “Triple Terroir” and how this will influence the brand going forward?

RT: This is at the heart of everything we’re working toward. “Triple Terroir” means creating whiskey from our own grain and our own water, and aging it in our own wood.

With the release of the 15 Year this month, the public can now enjoy whiskey finished in Vermont White Oak from our farm, which imparts a unique flavor profile. Future creations will continue to incorporate additional elements from the farm.

KM: What do you see as your biggest challenges within that next five year time frame?

RB: The biggest challenge will be growing the company in an environment of increasing competition. We will also face obstacles as we begin to run into the big whiskey powerhouses and take more market share.

WhistlePig Old World 12 Year Old Rye
(Credit: WhistlePig)

KM: Can you walk us through the development of your Old World Series (i.e. how it came to being, how it fits into your overall plans, and what you are planning to introduce in the future)?

RB: The plan for the Old World Series was pretty simple: let’s take on Scotch directly. Take a classic Scotch age statement, using our more robust rye whiskey, and finish it using some of the classical finishing techniques you would find in an 18 year old Macallan. The Old World also fit into our plans of increasing our age statement as our competitors drop them, like we just did again with the release of our 15 Year. Time is the one thing you cannot cheat or buy.  And WhistlePig spends more time in a barrel than almost anyone.

KM: What do you think WhistlePig adds to the world of American whiskies?

RB: WhistlePig represents the coming of age of the American whiskey industry, taking the top position that has been occupied by Scotch for a century now. It was a nice run, and hats off to Scotland, but here we come baby. Number one.

KM: Finally, what has it meant to the brand to work so closely with an industry legend such as Dave Pickerell.

RB: It has been a true pleasure and honor to work with Dave. He is a legend for a reason, I can tell you. I sure could not have done it without him. He and my wife really. Besides being a genius in whiskey, he really is a superb man and loyal friend. These I count as great.