Made from 100% local grains, this unique product celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Vermont Republic
Vermont Business Magazine Bennington's Village Garage Distillery has officially unveiled a new product. Vermont Republic Rye, a barrel strength, 127 proof, malted rye made entirely from local grains, is a love letter to the Green Mountain State’s history and culture.
The Vermont Republic was an independent state that existed from 1777 to 1791—a tumultuous period of revolution and war associated with many colorful and divisive figures, from Ethan Allen to General John Stark, known as “The Hero of Bennington.” During this period, well before prohibition and the rise of bourbon, rye was the most popular spirit in the region.
“As someone who’s Bennington born and raised, I grew up hearing stories about these times,” explains VGD co-founder Glen Sauer, “and we wanted to make something that we felt like our ancestors would have enjoyed in their glasses.”
Sauer’s fellow VGD co-founder, Matt Cushman, believes that it’s the unique nature of Republic Rye that best recalls its Vermont distilling heritage. “Being both barrel proof and 100% malted rye, there’s nothing else quite like it on the market,” says Cushman. “All our grain is local, and I think there’s something special about that sense of place. It shows in the flavor profile.”
Chief Distiller Todd Pinsonneault
That profile, says Chief Distiller Todd Pinsonneault, “begins with a nose of toasted oak, baking spices and candied apricot.” On the palate, Pinsonneault continues, the rye delivers “caramel and butterscotch” rounded out by a "malted chocolate finish” that articulates five years spent aging in white oak casks.
Produced hyper-locally and with minimal intervention by Pinsonneault—eschewing coloration, water dilution, and modern techniques like chill filtration—Republic Rye gives life to Sauer’s vision of a whiskey that could well have been enjoyed by citizens of an independent Vermont.
Vermont Republic Rye is now available in 802Spirits stores across Vermont, and online through the VGD website.
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Vermont Business Magazine