"A few years ago, I read an article that changed how I think about bourbon. It wasn't about distilling or aging. It was about bread. Bread Is Broken by Ferris Jabr explores how modern industrial farming stripped grains of their flavor and nutritional value in exchange for higher yield, longer shelf life, and cost efficiency. As I read, I kept wondering if flavor has been lost in wheat; what does that mean for the wheat in our whisky?"
"He paused and said, "You're the first person who's ever asked me that." That one question, nearly a decade ago, reenergized our pursuit of flavor. In that time, we expanded our farm operations, benchmarked our sustainability efforts, and doubled down on new regenerative processes: no-till farming, cover cropping, and crop rotation, which we knew would create healthier soil and therefore better flavor in our bourbon, and launched Star Hill Farm Whisky."
"When new leaders join our team, I often hand them a copy of Simon Sinek's The Infinite Game. What really struck me about Sinek's book is the idea that an infinite mindset isn't about "winning" in the traditional sense; it's about ensuring the game continues. For me, that means stewardship over short-term gains: How do we leave the land, our bourbon, our culture, and our industry stronger than we found it?"
Modern industrial farming prioritized yield, shelf life, and cost efficiency at the expense of grain flavor and nutritional value. Concern about lost wheat flavor prompted direct inquiry to a wheat breeder, revealing that flavor impacts of farming practices had not been widely studied. A decade of focused effort produced expanded farm operations, sustainability benchmarking, and adoption of regenerative practices—no-till farming, cover cropping, and crop rotation—to build healthier soil and improve bourbon flavor, culminating in the launch of Star Hill Farm Whisky. An infinite mindset centered on stewardship guides these choices to ensure long-term resilience of land and bourbon.
Read at Fast Company
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