The Question

For most, it's an interesting concept to ponder and dream about; for me—for whatever reason—the question struck a chord, and not a very pleasant one. I rolled it over and over in my mind, as if my very existence depended on the answer. Nothing I came up with seemed to assuage the restless feeling the simple query instilled. And then, I thought about making whiskey. Suddenly, a sense of calm washed over me and, although I'd always loved drinking whiskey, I had never before considered that producing it could be a reality.

The First Trials

What followed was a long journey involving a 5-gallon copper still, a hot pad, a few dozen mason jars and some long nights of trial and retrial in the back of my family's Illinois barn, attempting to craft and refine a whiskey. A whiskey I could proudly point to and say was my very own; a whiskey with a background, a whiskey with a story.

The result was a distinguished 4-grain bourbon, but something was missing. The wheat I was using wasn't giving me the earthy tone I was looking for. It was too sweet. Thus began my search for the perfect ingredients for the perfect whiskey mash bill.

The Missing Ingredient

My sojourn carried me from the farmlands of northern Illinois to the many mountain ranges of the northern Rockies and the rugged, rolling plains that lie between those snow-covered ridgelines. In south-central Montana, near the farming community of Manhattan, just northwest of Bozeman, I discovered Droge Farms, a family farm which produces a fantastic hard red spring variety of wheat that provided the exact flavor that my 4-grain bourbon was missing. Pairing this dry and earthy wheat with the sweetness of midwestern corn gave it the finishing touch I was longing for.

Blending my fondest memories—and crafted trials—of the midwest with this superlative red wheat creates a perfectly accentuated experience that is rich and complex.

Ghostwood is indebted as much to the greatness of midwest grains as it is to the hardiness of Montana's changing seasons and the combination that those two factors produce are what make this blended bourbon such an exceptional offering.

Ghostwood Blended Bourbon is not only a tasteful pairing of ingredients from two celebrated regions, it is a pairing of two great families from those locales—Perks and Droge—and a partnership that we hope will last a lifetime.