New 100% Grain To Glass Whiskeys Emerge From WhistlePig’s Vermont Farm

by Nino Kilgore-Marchetti
June 2, 2021

WhistlePig Whiskey has long had on its radar the idea of having its own 100% estate whiskey, in which, on its farm distillery in Vermont, bottlings emerge from there that are entirely harvested, distilled, aged and bottled by hand. It is a journey it began more in earnest in early 2017 with the first release from its FarmStock series that consisted at least partially of aged whiskey produced from rye grain grown and distilled at the farm.

Now the very popular rye maker is set to release the first of the full fruit of its labors, unveiling the new FarmStock Beyond Bonded releases made from grains fully grown in its own crop fields.

The new WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Rye and WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Bourbon, according to those behind it, are harvested, distilled, aged and bottled by hand at the WhistlePig Farm and Distillery in Shoreham, Vermont. It was noted of these offerings by the brand that the rye “is a Straight Rye Whiskey crafted from 100% Remington Rye harvested from the ‘North Orwell 1’ field of WhistlePig’s 500-acre Farm.

“FarmStock Beyond Bonded Bourbon is a Straight Bourbon Whiskey made with a high rye mash bill clocking in at 51% Dent Corn and 49% Remington and Rifle Rye varietals harvested from ‘North Orwell 1’ and ‘North Orwell 2’ fields. Both whiskeys were distilled on WhistlePig’s original hybrid still, ‘Mortimer’, proofed with water from WhistlePig’s Farm well, and aged for upwards of four years in Vermont Estate Oak barrels which were produced from local Vermont oak. The oldest barrel in the release was aged for four years, 8 months and 14 days.”

“Beyond Bonded has been our most ambitious experiment to date. Whiskey making is a labor of love, with challenges at every step of the process,” said Emily Harrison, WhistlePig Distiller, in a prepared statement. “In Vermont, the short growing season and extreme temperatures make for much tougher farming than in the south. After harvest, Rye is a notoriously difficult grain to distill, but we’ve always believed that the benefits of its complexity are well worth the effort. FarmStock Beyond Bonded shows its incredible potential once again, in both Rye and Bourbon. Seeing it leave the Farm is a dream come true.”

As a bonus to those who buy these, the distillery has added “a unique QR code on the label. Each code reveals thirty unique facts about their individual whiskey, from growing conditions to fermentation days to barrel specs to bottling team.”

“Today’s craft spirits drinkers, especially whiskey collectors, are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about process,” said Jeff Kozak, WhistlePig CEO. “After working toward a 100% Farm whiskey vision for more than a decade, our team is proud to invite WhistlePig fans to look under the hood at who, where, when and how our grain-to-glass whiskey is created, and to offer a one-of-a-kind experience from each barrel.”

The WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Rye and WhistlePig FarmStock Beyond Bonded Bourbon, each bottled at 100.1 proof (just beyond the bonded whiskey standard) and priced at around $100 per 750 ml bottle, will be made available nationwide starting this month. The equivalent of just 24 barrels of rye and 16 barrels of bourbon are being released for 2021, with more set to be put on sale next year.