Wyoming Whiskey, 10th Anniversary

The whiskey barrel is being emptied for bottling.

Celebrating 10 years of Wyoming’s First Legal Bourbon: WYOMING WHISKEY

When Brad and Kate Mead bought their new ranch in Kirby, Kate wanted a winery. The fourth generation Wyominites had decided to diversify their business ventures and on the short list was a vineyard. However, the arid region of Hot Springs County was better suited for growing grains than grapes.

In June 2006, David DeFazio, fellow lawyer, friend and business partner, was told by Brad, “Kate and I have decided we want to make bourbon.”

Dave responded, “How the hell do you make bourbon?”

“That’s for you to figure out.”

With this directive from Brad, David plunged into the world of bourbon with a mission to create the state’s first legal distillery. By fall of that year, his research led the men to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival where they began to learn firsthand about the industry of bourbon making.

One of their new acquaintances was Max Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Distillery. He actually attempted to dissuade them from their proposed venture because, according to Max, it would take three times as long, be three times as hard and be three times as expensive as the partners expected.

By now, however, the idea was firm in their minds and they were not to be deterred. In fact, their plans grew only bigger and more expansive than they first imagined. By January 2007, Brad announced to Kate, “We just bought a still.” “Will it fit in our garage?” she asked. “No,” he had to admit. “Its 38 feet tall.” Their new whiskey facility was built around the larger still and the colors were chosen by Kate to specifically blend into the red and brown landscape of Kirby. The distillery itself was designed to resemble the grain elevators as a tribute to those commonly seen throughout the region. In the summer of 2007, Brad sunk the ceremonial first shovel into the ground and construction began. That same year, Steve

Nally, their future Master Distiller, was inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. Beginning as a warehouse guard at Maker’s Mark, Steve had worked his way through the ranks to become a distiller, the top position at Maker’s. He continued in that job until his retirement after 33 years of being in the bourbon business.

Up for a new challenge, Steve came out of retirement to accept the position at Wyoming Whiskey as head distiller. He relocated to Wyoming with his wife, Donna, who was also a Maker’s Mark alumni and future inductee into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame.

Steve tested his recipes in true moonshiner style. To develop a wheated small batch bourbon, the original recipe for Wyoming Whiskey, Steve used an old, copper moonshiner’s still that was on loan from Callum Mackay of Kelly, Wyoming.

Brad and David had envisioned a medium bodied and softer bourbon than the traditional Kentucky bourbons. With this goal in mind, and the moonshiner still, Steve experimented with a number of yeasts before settling on a preliminary taste profile that met his approval.

The ceremonial start of Wyoming Whiskey production was made on July 4th, 2009. Three years later, the first bottles were released to the public.

Remembering those first years, David remarked, “I think fondly of our grand opening on December 1st, 2012 when thousands from Wyoming, and the United States, descended on Kirby to celebrate. The Governor, retired Senator Alan Simpson, family, friends, strangers… it was awesome.”

However, David said the early release was a mistake. “The toughest issue I still face is meeting people that tried our first bourbon and have refused to try it again. The bourbon was too young and we had not yet dialed in our quality control.”

Since that first batch’s release, Wyoming Whiskey has finetuned the aging process to coincide with the different climate of Wyoming from that of Kentucky. They have improved every batch since that first one, a claim they make with confidence since they have gone on to win awards and accolades across the county.

Wyoming Whiskey Still They are now distributed nationally so that you can order Wyoming Whiskey across the United States.

“I see our whiskies getting better and better with the subtle refinements that we make every day. And I see the brand gaining more and more awareness,” David said when talking about the future of the whiskey.

Steve agrees. “I see it to have potential to be a prominent bourbon worldwide.”

In 2014, Steve and Donna returned to Kentucky to be closer to family but remember their time in Wyoming with fondness, still returning often to sip on Wyoming Whiskey with their friends in Thermopolis.

“To personally be able to build a distillery from the ground up was a great honor,” Steve said. “I will always cherish being part of building the first legal distillery in the state of Wyoming.” 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of this unique bourbon which, with its flavor profile and local grains, has a unique taste that contains the wind and spirit of Wyoming. In celebration, a 10-year old bourbon that Steve made will be released in December 2022 that will only be available in Wyoming and select markets.

Free Whiskey Tastings are held at the Wyoming Whiskey Gift Shop in Kirby where limited edition Whiskeys and gear can be bought. You can also visit them virtually at WyomingWhiskey.com. Celebrate Wyoming Whiskey!