Library

A brand-new edition packed with the latest techniques, trends, and stories shaping today’s distilling industry.

Glen and Ryan close out the course and offer parting thoughts on a safer, more sustainable distillery’s place in the community.

Glen lays out many of the safety precautions included in the Village Garage buildout, including fire doors, vapor detectors, explosion-proof pipes, and more. He also explains the water system and gravity-powered blending tower.

Ryan guides us around the distillery, showing us how the system is organized for efficiency—including the automated mill, mash tun/cooker, open-top fermentors, still, steam valves, blending tower, bottling setup, steam boiler, and more.

Ryan explains their thoughtfully designed processes for distilling, proofing, barreling, and bottling with a small team and small footprint—including easy steam control, valves and gauges at working height, simple transfer, quick cleaning, a custom-made blending tower, and making use of gravity and air.

Village Garage typically lets their fermentation go for five or more days in open-top fermentors to develop a more acidic profile using local wild yeast. Ryan also explains the efficiencies of using defoamer and an air-diaphragm pump for easy transfer to the still, and minimizing water to keep the still temperatures (and energy use) down.

The combination of clean-steam boiler and stainless-covered insulation enables a safe, quick, and energy-efficient process. Ryan explains how, step by step.

From sourcing local grains to the closed conveyance from mill to cooker, Ryan explains more about their process—including why they use super sacks, the importance of preventive maintenance and having tools in every area, and why they dedicate every Friday to cleaning, organizing, and tightening quality.

From locally sourced grains and a programmable roller mill to a streamlined brewhouse and still, Ryan explains the efficient workflow at Village Garage—and how they can finish a brew in less than three hours, making it possible to brew twice without a long, taxing day.

Ryan and Glen tell the tale behind Village Garage and how they prioritized flow and efficiency in the planning and design of the distillery.

To finish off the course, Liz and Mitch tie the elements of the process together by tasting through some of WhistlePig’s whiskeys, discussing the finer points of sensory evaluation, and more.

Our instructors take us back into the distillery to sample from the current run, then out to the grounds to visit the hogs and the Sugar Shack.

Mitch explains more about WhistlePig’s R&D program, including a wide range of finishing casks and looking for compelling flavors from around the world.

Mitch Mahar describes the sampling process of the whiskey casks at WhistlePig before zooming in on their finishing process, and how different kinds of finishing casks can play into their blends.

From the versatile still setup to cask placement in the rickhouse, Mitch Mahar describes some of the strengths and quirks at their small distillery—including how they work with the variability of the harvest.

The WhistlePig team tests the grain it grows, making informed choices about how to adjust mash regimes and other aspects of the process based on those data.

From their choice of rye varietal to the Vermont climate, WhistlePig’s ingredients and process combine to create distinctive flavors—and that starts on the farm.

Head of whiskey development Liz Rhoades and R&D distiller Mitch Mahar welcome us to their course, in which they’ll walk us through WhistlePig’s whiskey-making process, from the farm through the distillery, and into the barrels and (eventually) the blends, bottles, and bar.

Coming to print for the first time, the premier issue of Spirits & Distilling is packed with compelling and useful stories for distillers, owners, and operators.

Hear about Sante Fe’s process for tasting through barrels, blending, and bottling, including the meaning of the age statement on the bottle. Finally, Stephen shares parting thoughts about what makes craft distilling special.

Hear about how Stephen and the Santa Fe team maintain their barrels—including the use of steam to clean and saturate the wood; tightening the hoops to “tune” the barrel and ensure a tight seal; preparing barrels for re-use; and minimal movement to help ensure a premium spirit.

Hear more about how Sante Fe Spirits approaches its whiskey blends and the importance of its mesquite-smoked malt to that finishing process. Other considerations include the “bottle shock” effect and the rules and regulations of whiskey production.

Watch as Stephen cracks into two well-aged but very different barrels—one of charred new oak, the other a used bourbon barrel—to compare the differences in color and character.

The barrel is a time capsule—consider how it changes throughout the year within its environment, as well as how its placement in the rackhouse might (or might not) affect the character of the spirit.