Our Story
It all began with growing superior corn, wheat & rye on Henry Farms. When we decided to produce bourbon, we specifically selected an heirloom red corn developed at the University of Wisconsin in 1939. We chose these grains because Joe’s dad Jerry grew them for 30 years (in the 1940’s - 1960’s). We had to repropagate these heirloom grains and are the only people in the world using them in our mashbill, making J. Henry & Sons Bourbon unique.
Our bourbon is a natural extension of what we already do, and it’s our privilege to offer bourbon whiskey made with our exacting production standards from these high-quality ingredients grown right here on our farm.
But this almost wasn’t the case. Many years back, our farm was struggling, like so many farms, during the farm crisis of the 1980s. Joe Henry, was faced with a decision: walk away from the farm he loved and grew up on because it could not sustain itself, or find a way to turn it around —Joe chose to save his family farm.
It took Joe and Liz several years to turn the farm around. To do so, Joe worked part-time for himself and part-time for other seed corn producers. It took a lot of hard work and sleepless nights to get there, but the reward — a successful farm that would carry on the family’s legacy — made it all worth while.
In a way, our history makes J. Henry & Sons Bourbon a celebration — a gift that all can enjoy because of the dedication Joe, his family, and his team made to save Henry Farms.
Wisconsin is home.
Speaking of our farm, it’s located in Dane, Wisconsin, about 20 miles north of Madison. It’s here where we’ve been raising seed corn since 1946 (for three generations) and the heirloom red corn, wheat and rye used in our premium bourbon since 2008.
