J. Henry & Sons is the only distillery in the world to use rare corn to make whiskey and bourbon
Developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1939, a corn known as W335A sat overlooked in a seed bank for decades. Today, that red heirloom corn is what sets apart J. Henry & Sons whiskey and bourbon. They’re the only ones in the world using it.
Grown for three generations at the Henry family farm in Dane County, W335A fell out of favor in the 1970s when higher-producing options became more available. It sat untouched at UW-Madison until 2006, when the Henry family began propagating the seed again. They began turning it into whiskey in 2009, and in 2015 J. Henry & Sons sold its first bottles.
Joe Z. Henry is one of the sons in the name. While he grew up on the farm, he wasn't sure he wanted to be in the family business. He was just a teen when they began making whiskey. He went off to UW-Madison, then Chicago for a career in sales. To help the family business, he began doing tastings after work. As he shared their story, he also focused on educating himself and his palate. In 2018, he returned to the business full-time.
In October the 31-year-old received the distinction of master blender at the distillery. It’s a big role, developing the flavor and style of their grain-to-glass products going forward.
Henry will be at Bacchus, 925 E. Wells St., for a "Good Old Fashioned" bourbon dinner January 31. The five-course menu created by chef de cuisine Brent Davis features pours and cocktails of J. Henry & Sons whiskeys, including Small Batch, Patton Road Reserve Cask Strength, Four Grain Rye, Limited Edition 2023 Anniversary Blend and La Flamme Armagnac Finished. Tickets are $175. Reservations can be made online at bartolottas.com.
Another J. Henry & Sons bourbon dinner is in the planning stages at Morel, 430 S. 2nd St., for March 7; go to morelmke.com for information.
Currently, J. Henry & Sons products are sold only in Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. J. Henry & Sons, 7794 Patton Road, Dane, retail and tasting room hours are noon to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Reservations suggested for tours. Call (608) 846-4116 or go to jhenryandsons.com.
Henry recently talked about his family's farm and distillery.
From corn to cocktails
We are three generations on the farm. The whiskey has been second generation. We started making whiskey in 2009, but the corn we used was a very specific varietal from the UW-Madison seed bank, W335A. That red corn was a hybrid developed by UW’s ag research in 1939. It was something our grandfather raised on our property here from the mid '40s to the 1970s. It would have gone extinct, but because it is a proprietary seed, they hold those in a humidity-controlled library in one of the agriculture buildings in Madison. That sat in hibernation from the mid 70s until 2006. We wanted to use that same varietal that had grown well on our farm historically to propagate it into bourbon.
Why you need to know about W335A
We are the only ones in the world growing that varietal. That’s pretty cool. It took us from 2006 to 2009 to grow enough. ... We took it upon ourselves to create our own proprietary hybrid. That took seven to 10 years, using W335A with some more progressive crops to get the best of both worlds. We’ve been using that hybrid, J. Henry Red, since 2021.
I am pretty sure we are the only whiskey and bourbon producer in the world that has their own proprietary red heirloom strain specifically designed to make the most flavorful whiskey possible.
How patience paid off for this product
We launched with a five-year-old bourbon, which is pretty unheard of with small craft distilleries. We essentially just sat on inventory from 2009 to 2015.
We also submitted our products to competitions. We didn’t know what we were doing. We worked with good people and made some good decisions, but to go on a global stage and go head-to-head with the people from Kentucky and put up solid competition was rewarding.
Why he thinks about wine when talking about whiskey
We grow all the corn, all the wheat, the rye. The only thing we don’t get is malted barley, which comes from northern Wisconsin. If you talk to wine people, there is the idea of terroir, a French term that is not a concept that anyone in the bourbon-making community has really touched upon.
Up until recently, 95% of the world’s bourbon supply was made in just three counties in Kentucky, all using the same GMO dent corn, similar climate, water supply. I am not saying this to talk bad. I have learned a ton, and they have good products. But when you think of the concept of terroir, there is not a lot of differentiation. ... We have something here, and people need to know about it.
What separates a master distiller from master blender
A master distiller handles all fermentation and distilling process. ... The master blender is focused on the rickhouse, the elevage, a French term that ties to the growth and development of barrels.
How his mentor helped him become a master blender
I was recently named master blender by my mentor. Now I’m head of sales, market development and master blender, another accolade that doesn’t really exist in American whiskey making.
Nancy Fraley, my mentor, has been working with our family since 2011. She was trained by an 11th-generation cognac distiller. They don’t even have master distillers in Cognac, maybe at the bigger houses, but their main person is a master blender focused on blending products, managing barrels, proof, watching products grow, blending barrels for unique and exciting flavor profiles. ... She ended up meeting our family at a distillers convention.
My training has been over 10 years. I was a college kid just drinking what I could get my hands on, but I always liked good food and wine. She started training me to hone my palate and learn the artistic side of whiskey making.
What being a master blender means for his future
I’m never going to feel ready. I always want to keep learning. Five years ago we visited Cognac and the Armagnac region, met these 10th- and 11th-generation distillers. I’m going again in April. America is only a couple hundred years old. France has been making cognac, brandy and distilled spirits since the 1100s or 1200s. They’re tying their shoes with techniques that here in America and whiskey-making would be considered extremely advanced.
I am looking to do some consulting of my own because I feel like working with other people’s products will benefit me. I will be teaching classes with Nancy in the future. ... I also try and go to other distilling cultures and learn. I want to learn a lot about wine. Fermentation is a big aspect of whiskey-making. I have a lot of friends who are brewers, and I learn from them. I am planning a trip to Scotland, another whiskey-making culture. There are fun things to learn about rum, I’m going to Puerto Rico. All those things help me paint the canvas for what J. Henry will taste like.
What he brings back from France
A lot of French brandy, a lot of knowledge. When we came out with our La Flamme Reserve, an Armagnac finished bourbon, that was specifically based off that original trip several years ago.
What he wants you to know about J. Henry & Sons bourbon
All bourbon needs to be aged in a new charred-oak container. That is federal law. There are three major things that constitute making bourbon: 51% or more corn, aged in a new charred-oak container, made in America. Those are the three biggest things. Yes, you can make bourbon in Wisconsin, and yes, you can make it well.
There are still people who think you can only make bourbon in Kentucky. I have friends coming up with cool things in Texas, one from Still in Austin is going to France with me in April. ... There are people doing some cool stuff, wildly different than what we do here. This idea of terroir and why, it will become more apparent than it has been, especially applying to American whiskey-making.
Behind their barrels
We do something else a lot of people skip: a light toasting on the inside of the barrel. Think about when you caramelize a marshmallow rather than burning the crap out of it, you get that nice golden crust. You essentially get the same thing inside the barrel. Caramel, vanilla, sweet, nice flavors from the wood are brought out by that toasting process.
Look for his touch on this product
We just released the rye whiskey in November 2023. I came up with the mash bill from start to finish. It is a much more approachable rye than what people might be used to, but still has enough kick for the experienced rye drinker. It is like a gateway rye.
What he’s looking forward to next
We’ll be coming out with a rye finished in Vino de Naranja casks. I heard about these barrels from some Spanish friends when I lived there.
Then I was fortunate enough to go to a friend’s wedding in Spain and went to Jerez, which is where they make sherry. I found some cool people willing to sell me some casks. I have some Pedro Ximenez casks.
We’re looking to release (the Vino de Naranja rye whiskey) in 2024. That one will be really cool, probably in line with Belle Fontaine or La Flamme for pricing. I want to make things that are premium but also affordable and accessible. I’m not making this stuff so it can sit on the shelf. I want people to try this.
What he wants for Wisconsin spirits
The community is strong here. If we collectively in the state, all the Wisconsin distillers, can sell one percent of what Kentucky distillers can sell in Wisconsin, we’ll all be doing pretty well. We do really cool, interesting things here, but you go outside the state, nobody knows about us.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: J. Henry & Sons is the only distillery in the world to use W335A corn
