For the Love of the Land

A deep connection to the land has always been at the heart of everything Brad and Kate Mead do, from their family cattle ranch to their venture in whiskey distilling.

This bond to the land runs deep, particularly at the Spring Gulch Ranch in Jackson Hole, which has been in Brad’s family since 1890. A fourth-generation cattle rancher, Brad’s appreciation for the outdoors was cultivated early on. Kate, who has been ranching alongside her husband for decades, is also a steadfast advocate of preserving and giving back to the state she now calls home.

When the couple launched Wyoming Whiskey alongside co-founder David DeFazio, their love for the state’s wildlands was woven into every aspect — from the name and production process to the portion of profits that are invested into the area’s national parks.

‘Honey, I bought a still.’ 

Wyoming Whiskey became the state's first legal distillery after the Meads bought a ranch in Kirby, Wyoming, and realized the land offered ideal conditions for distilling whiskey. The journey began when Brad took the first step during a trip to Kentucky.

“He came home and said, ‘honey, I bought a still.’ And I said, ‘can you put it in the garage?’” Kate recalled. The still was 38 feet tall. “So, it didn't fit in the garage.”

The new business venture was a way to diversify their operations and expand beyond traditional ranching, “and bourbon was something that I was keenly interested in,” Brad said. 

The grains used to create Wyoming Whiskey are locally sourced, and every drop is distilled, aged, barreled and bottled on Kirby Ranch. The product is aged for a minimum of five years, refined by the area’s unique environment of extreme hot and cold.

Supporting Wyoming’s national parks

A dedication to conservation and supporting organizations that protect Wyoming’s wildlands has always been a cornerstone of the brand. The company's National Parks Series, a collection of limited edition whiskeys, was created as a way to honor and preserve these natural landscapes, specifically focusing on Wyoming’s iconic national parks: Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

Since 2021, Wyoming Whiskey has released a new National Parks edition each year, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the National Park Foundation, Yellowstone Forever or the Grand Teton National Park Foundation.

Kate has a long history working with the Grand Teton National Park Foundation as one of its founding board members. She helped raise money to build a new visitors center in Moose, as well as many other projects that helped improve the park. 

“It seemed natural to have Wyoming Whiskey work with those organizations,” Kate said. “And how can you go wrong? I think national parks are America's greatest idea.”

The label for each year’s edition pays homage to a part of the national park landscape, such as the Teton Range, Snake River and Mammoth Hot Springs.

“This is a really near and dear thing to us, just given some of the difficulties that parks may face and in terms of resources,” Brad says. 

Grand Teton National Park has been an important part of Brad’s life, and has long held a place in the Mead family history as several generations of Meads grazed cattle on national park land. 

“Kate and I really appreciate the fact that Jackson looks the way it does now because there were people who were generous enough and far-sighted enough to try to conserve different important parcels in the county,” Brad said.

COCKTAIL RECIPE  | Wyoming Whiskey Paper Plane

• ¾ ounce Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon
• ¾ ounce Aperol
• ¾ ounce Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
• ¾ ounce lemon juice

Add Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino and lemon juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon wedge.