Sips & Sites & Bites

There’s a western whiskey maker that’s doing it all. 

Frey Ranch Distillery is located just east of the Sierra Mountains, and because it’s on a ranch with amazing farming conditions (thanks to its proximity to the Lake Tahoe Watershed), Frey Ranch Distillery is a year-round working farm and one of the few whiskey producers that grows 100 percent of its grains on-site … and has done so since the distillery’s founding in 2006.

Frey Ranch announced its recent expansion into five new U.S. markets, including Texas, Oregon, Arizona, Ohio, and Georgia. With these additions, Frey Ranch is now available in seven markets, including its home state of Nevada, and California. The news comes as the brand celebrates its 10^th year of distilling in Northern Nevada. 

Frey Ranch Co-Founder and Whiskey Farmer Colby Frey recently visited with us about his farm-to-glass operation and the future of whiskey in the West.

Q: What was the genesis moment for the whiskey business on the farm?

Colby Frey: “The Frey family has been growing grains in Northern Nevada since 1854, including corn, wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Typically, farmers grow grains to sell on the open market as a commodity – where you never actually experience the end product yourself. When my wife Ashley and I purchased the family farm, we were looking for ways to utilize our high-quality crops in a meaningful, more tangible way. As bourbon drinkers ourselves, we realized we were literally sitting on the most important ingredients for whiskey production – the grains. So, we decided to blend our farming acumen with our passion for bourbon to create a true farm-to-glass American whiskey.

“It’s really a farmer’s dream to share our crops with people. When someone is visiting Frey Ranch Distillery for the first time and tastes the sweetness of the corn or the spiciness of the rye, they are doing so in the exact location where those grains were cultivated and harvested. We’re incredibly proud to own 100% of the production process of Frey Ranch – from growing, malting, distilling and aging everything that we bottle on our 2,000-acre farm.

“Not only are we personally invested in building our whiskey business, but it also made sense for the future of the farm. By producing spirits from rotation crops like wheat, rye, barley, and corn, we realized we could create something long-lasting and financially viable from perishable grains that would otherwise have a limited shelf-life.”

Q: Do you consider distilling a form of agriculture, and how does that apply to your products?

Frey: “I do consider distilling a form of agriculture because you can’t make whiskey without the most essential ingredient – grain. And whether you are distilling with corn, rye, barley, wheat, or oat, that grain is grown on a farm. Farmers play such an important role in our food sources – especially when you think about the proliferation of farmer’s markets across the country. And, farmers also play an essential role in spirits production – because grains are the foundation for distilling.

“Given that we own the production of our grains, we can grow for quality not quantity. We are growing and harvesting specifically for our whiskey forecasting and not because we want to sell as much as possible on the open market, which is where a lot of whiskey brands source their grains.”

Q: How did you get over the hump of making a few bottles for friends and family to a full line-up of products expanding across the country?

Frey: “It’s that old adage, ‘How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.’

“When we started Frey Ranch Distillery, we focused on what we were doing, we did it the best we could, and then moved onto the next thing. Ashley and I reminded ourselves to celebrate those small moments and successes that came together as a result of hard work, perseverance, and adaptability. Because at the end of the day, farmers have to be optimists. You are planting a seed in the ground and hoping that your harvest is fruitful. Between that moment when the seed is planted to harvest season, a thousand things can go wrong. However, you are banking on that harvest to survive as a business, so you have to be an eternal optimist.

“We also entered into a business where there is a real sense of community. We’re incredibly grateful to our fans who have supported us through our 10 years of business and to our fellow whiskey producers who generously shared their knowledge and advice as we were building the brand.”

Q: Where do you think people can tell the difference in the organic, hyper local whiskey you make?

Frey: “I think the difference stems from our control of the entire production process.

Since our whiskey operation starts in the field with the grains we grow 100% on-site at Frey Ranch, our knowledge of farming greatly plays into the creation of our whiskies. When we plant a seed it is destined to be whiskey –  whether that’s our signature Four Grain Straight Bourbon or one of our more experimental releases like 100% Malted Corn.

“I employ the slow grown grains method, which means knowing exactly where the grains are sourced, and how they were grown – sacrificing speed and quantity for the highest quality. Frey Ranch grows winter variety grains that are planted in the fall and grow slowly through the winter, except for corn – allowing for a healthier plant with a stronger root system.

“At Frey Ranch, we see this as a return to agrarian practices, or ‘estate distilling’ that was a common occurrence when distilling took root in America back in the 1700s and 1800s. Of course, we’ve modernized those practices, but we see farm-to-glass whiskey as a logical evolution in distilling. With the proliferation of farmer’s markets across every city and town, we know people care deeply about where their food comes from. With that in mind, why wouldn’t they care where their whiskey grains come from? “ 

Q: Where you grow, the terroir of the land, how does it affect your end product?

Frey: “Northern Nevada has four distinct seasons – allowing the whiskey to expand and contract like its Kentucky counterparts. High temps in the summer can exceed 100 degrees while our winter lows can hit 0 degrees. The only thing we have going against us is our low or nonexistent humidity, so we added humidification systems to our warehouses so we don’t lose all our whiskey to evaporation. 

“When you have five generations of farming knowledge under your belt, you know how to weather the storm – both literally and figuratively. The Northern Nevada region has an agrarian history, so we’ve taken that hard-earned knowledge and applied it to our commercial endeavors – from growing and exporting alfalfa to pivoting our business to farm distilling.

“At Frey Ranch, we use what we call a common sense approach to sustainable farming. No gimmicks or fancy buzzwords, but rather what we’ve always done to make sure the land is well taken care of and can continue to produce beautiful, sustainable crops. Growing our grains on-site eliminates the need and energy to truck the grain across the country. Additionally, we have a rather symbiotic relationship with the dairy farm next door, as our spent grain goes directly to them instead of us having to pay to have it hauled away. We then use the cow manure to fertilize our crops. For the whiskey consumers and visitors to our distillery, they can see, smell, and feel the grains being grown, connecting them to our farm and process. We are proud to have put Nevada on the map as a serious producer of American whiskey.”

Q: What are some of the challenges and benefits of being a family-run business?

Frey: “As a family run business, we have the ability to move at our own pace. Big companies are often mired in bureaucracy and red tape, whereas we adapt to our business needs on a dime. Ashley and I have a similar philosophy about running Frey Ranch – do what we do best, bring on a smart group of people to help us grow our business, and don’t follow trends.

“Most importantly, Ashley and I live and work on the land we cultivate. We’ve created a business that can outlive us, and which we hope to pass down to our children one day. Our ultimate goal is to pass on the farm to our kids in as good or better condition than we inherited it.”

Q: Where do you see Frey Ranch in 10 years?

Frey: “Purely from a business sense, I hope in 10 years Frey Ranch is available in all 50 states. We’re making great progress, as we expand into new markets, including Texas, Arizona, Ohio, Oregon and Georgia with more to come in the next 12 months.

“But, more than anything, I want Frey Ranch to be known as a leader in the farm distillery movement. As a comparison, in the wine world, people talk about the importance of provenance in grapes. However, no one discusses this in the whiskey world. I want to change that conversation because grains are vital to the health and production of American whiskey. We want people to care where their whiskey comes from in the same vein that they care about where their food comes from. It’s always exciting to see more great farm distilleries popping up domestically and internationally. It helps us move grains away from the commodity market and back to our roots of agrarian distilling.”

For more information, check out www.freyranch.com.