Wyomingites who want to taste one of the best whiskeys in the United States don’t have to travel very far.
That’s because Wyoming Whiskey, made in Kirby and distributed across the Cowboy State, has hit the No. 2 spot in USA Today’s annual roundup of the best craft whiskeys in the United States.
It’s not the No. 1 spot yet, but it’s quite a leap for a company whose first batch of whiskey didn’t exactly make the best impression when it was released in 2012.
“Our friends were telling us what we wanted to hear, not what we needed to hear,” Wyoming Whiskey cofounder David DeFazio told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday morning. “I don’t blame them. They didn’t want to be the ones to tell us this stuff was horrible.”
Looking back, it’s the one thing DeFazio would change for the brand that’s become a Wyoming standard.
“We should have waited another year, brought in some truly third-party tasters to ask where we are,” he said. “But a number of people across the state have finally decided to give us a second taste and realize how good this product is now.”
That’s helped fuel a double-digit rise in sales across the Cowboy State, DeFazio said. It’s also helped vault the whiskey in USA Today’s standings from barely making the list to almost No. 1.
“This is the highest we’ve ever been on that list,” DeFazio said. “But we’ve added a number of other awards to Wyoming Whiskey. San Francisco’s craft spirits award, and just a number of top-of-class designations.”
A Stellar Partnership
Another thing fueling the rise of Wyoming’s Whiskey’s spot in national rankings is its new partnership with Edrington, an international company whose portfolio includes The Macallan, one of the world’s most prestigious scotch whiskeys, produced in Scotland.
“One in a million companies have a chance to catch lightning in a bottle and do it all themselves,” DeFazio said. “Tito’s Vodka, for example. That was one man through his own determination and hard work who made that work. He should wear a cape like Superman.”
For the rest of the 999,999 companies trying to turn their brands into a global phenomenon, it takes more than what one person, or even two or three people can do, DeFazio said.
“Even if your brand is good enough that you could go national and global, it takes the marketing and distribution might of an international company,” he said. “A company that knows how to sell products nationally and internationally.”
By partnering with Edrington, Wyoming Whiskey has finally been able to escape single-digit, almost flat growth and hit double-digit territory in not just Wyoming, but also in markets across the United States.
“There’s now someone in every state in this country already selling Macallan and Glenrothes, and now they’re also selling Wyoming Whiskey, “ DeFazio said. “We’ve plugged into a network that already exists. And it’s not like they have 50 brands. They have seven. And we’re standing with those other brands and we’re getting lots of attention.”
It doesn’t hurt, either, that those brands are some of the most respected in the world.
“It’s plugging Wyoming Whiskey into a network that already exists,” DeFazio said. “And with products like Macallan in the portfolio, they’re really paying attention to us now.”
Still 100% Wyoming
Edrington has no plans to move Wyoming Whiskey from the tiny town of Kirby, and DeFazio and Kate and Brad Mead still own 20% of the brand.
“That is how Edrington wanted it,” DeFazio said. “They wanted us to have a stake in it. And the reason they decided to stay here in Kirby is because they want us to remain uniquely Wyoming.”
Wyoming grains from grower Brent Ragath in Byron are still the main ingredient in Wyoming Whiskey, and all of the high-quality water still comes from Manderson from a deep, underground limestone aquifer, similar to the ones that serve Bourbon County, Kentucky, distilleries.
“This is still a 100% Wyoming product, and Edrington has no plan to change that. They want us to focus on our Wyoming roots,” DeFazio said.
One of the other reasons the founders of Wyoming Whiskey decided to choose Edrington to bring Wyoming Whiskey to the global market is also its nonprofit-centered business model.
“We are not reporting to traditional shareholders,” DeFazio said. “It’s one shareholder that’s a trust that gives all the money away. It’s just unbelievable the amount of money they have given away over the years.”
That means every bottle of Wyoming Whiskey that sells is contributing to efforts to make the world a better place.
A Full-Time Master Blender Now On Board
One of the only big changes the company has made to the local operation is to hire Wyoming Whiskey’s first full-time master blender.
Brendan Cook has moved from Canada to Kirby, where he’s implementing a year-round sampling procedure and daily cask monitoring.
This hands-on approach, combined with Cook’s deep understanding of whiskey and how it reacts to the Wyoming environment, is going to help make Wyoming Whiskey even better than it already is.
Cook has already released his first blend, Independence Rock. The tasting notes of this whiskey include milk chocolate with orange and cherry, with a splash of some caramel and espresso.
The release honored pioneers of the West who traveled the Oregon, Mormon and California trails, as well as Wyoming Whiskey’s pioneering efforts to start the first craft distillery in the state.
Exciting things are ahead for the company, DeFazio added.
“We’ve worked with Edringtons for about 1.5 years now, and it’s going very well,” he said. “There was an alignment period, where we had to be assimilated into all of their procedures and programs, which took about a year.
“They needed to figure out what they had with Wyoming Whiskey, but we are past that phase now. So, it’s going to get exciting probably about a year from now with some very positive adjustments coming.”
Customers will still see the small batches they have come to know and love from Wyoming Whiskey, but there will be some new, elevated products coming out as well.
But don’t blink, DeFazio adds. Those elevated products could sell out very quickly.
That’s been the case for products like the Old Faithful, a limited edition that cost $500 a bottle, but sold out almost immediately.
“We’ve reached a status with true whiskey drinkers,” DeFazio said. “And we have a pretty comfortable spot with Wyoming whiskey drinkers, too.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
