WhistlePig

Several neighbors opposed its Act 250 application, part of the state and local permits a distillery needs, before the District 9 Environmental Commission issued the permit.^2,3,6 In August 2015 it was installing a 750-gallon copper pot still and planned to ferment the rye mash for three or four days.¹ A second still followed in 2019; the 2 pot stills, made by Vendome, are named Mortimer and Mauve, after the farm's first pigs.^2,9,10 In 2021 its fermenting tanks were stainless steel, and its water came from the farm's artesian wells.¹¹

In 2016 board members moved to remove Bhakta from leadership; when the dispute was settled in November 2016, he stepped down as CEO and stayed on the board.^5,6 Jeff Kozak became CEO in 2017, and Bhakta retired from the company that year but stayed a shareholder.^2,6,12 Pickerell died in 2018.^8,11,13 In 2019 investment firm BDT Capital Partners bought a significant minority stake, and Bhakta sold his remaining shares.^2,5,6 In December 2020 Moët Hennessy bought a minority stake and was to take over distribution of the whiskeys outside the U.S.^13,14,15 Charles Gibb succeeded Kozak as CEO in June 2025, and chief financial officer Alex Roberts took over in February 2026 after Gibb left.^14,15 From 2017 WhistlePig also ran a complex of whiskey ageing warehouses in Mineville, New York, through its subsidiary Moriah Ventures.^14,15 In 2026 it sold those warehouses to Zags 26, a Delaware-based investor group, and leased them back; it also owns bottling facilities in Middlebury, Vermont.^14,15

Sources

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