When Scott and I first opened High Wire , we knew we wanted to develop a whiskey program that was not just a locally produced whiskey made with just any locally sourced corn . The local movement was thriving , but we knew it wasn ’ t enough to give us an edge on the top whiskey producers . As an early advisor told us , “ You can ’ t out-Makers Maker ’ s Mark . Don ’ t even try .”
A quick survey of industry leaders revealed their emphasis on two things- -water and age . The raw ingredients were rarely , if ever , spoken of , mainly because of their reliance on the commodity grain markets . Given our background in the natural food business , we immediately identified the opportunity before us . If we could find the most unusual , most flavorful , and highest quality grains for our whiskeys , we could set ourselves apart from the industry giants . We knew this endeavor would take some time , and we knew we were going to need very strong farm partners to get us there . The task was daunting but not impossible .
Early in our search for heritage ingredients , John T . Edge , director of the Southern Foodways Alliance out of Oxford , MS , suggested we speak with the Guenther family of Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill in Monterey , TN . As members of the vast Mennonite community populating that area , the Guenthers had been farming sorghum for many generations using pure farming techniques such as employing draught horses instead of tractors for as many tasks as possible . The sorghum plants they harvest are pressed for juice in their entirety , leaves , stalk , and grain cluster included . Heat from a giant steam boiler is piped beneath a handmade stainless cooking trough where the juice is slowly cooked into syrup and strained for flaws . The resulting syrup is one of the most richly flavorful food products we have ever tasted .
We reached out to the Guenthers in early 2014 . At first , we were met with equal parts curiosity and skepticism . In addition to the Mennonite community ’ s disdain for alcohol , demand for their sorghum syrup had risen in the last few years . They simply didn ’ t have that much to go around . We convinced them to sell us enough for one batch of whiskey and asked them to come visit once the spirit had aged . We agreed on a price and our shipment of sorghum arrived a week later .
We will never forget that first sorghum fermentation . The distillery was filled with the aroma of banana bread for days . Our first distillation yielded smells of candied apples and sweet fried dough . The rich , malty notes we tasted in the syrup were present in the distillate as well , creating a very complex , balanced spirit . We knew we were on to something and couldn ’ t wait to see how the barrel transformed it . We began researching sorghum and learned that it , like corn , is a member of the grass family . Its roots grow deeper than any other row crop reaching down into the trace minerals and soaking up the magnesium and potassium located in the soil sub-strata . The absence of chemicals in their farming practices had kept the soil alive
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