Joe & Liz Henry

“Sowin’ Seed and Makin’ Bourbon”

Joe Z. Henry, Sr., grew up on his family’s golden farmland in Dane, Wisconsin, about 20 miles north of the capital in Madison. The Henry farmstead dates to 1946 and was always well-known locally for its quality seed corn. In the farm crisis of the 1980s, Joe shouldered the backbreaking work of keeping his own operation alive and splitting time between his own fields and work for other seed producers. That neighborly resilience and the family’s intricate knowledge of grain quality and selection would later shape the decisions the family made about whiskey.

Meanwhile, Liz (née Liz Henry) also grew up in Wisconsin. And like Joe, before bourbon, her world was also agriculture, but in a more personal way: marketing, education, and service to the farm community. At one time, Liz even served as Wisconsin’s “Alice in Dairyland,” the state’s agricultural ambassador. These experiences honed her skill at telling a farm story with clarity and pride. Eventually, the two farm-loving Sconnies met, dated, and, in the early 1980s, married, then settled into life on Joe’s land to operate Henry Seed Farms, LLC while raising their family.

On a vacation to Kentucky in 2003, the couple toured distilleries along the Bourbon Trail and began thinking: their grains and their farm’s climate might yield a distinctive Wisconsin straight bourbon. So they began to study, listen, and plan. The goal from the beginning wasn’t to become generalist distillers, it was to make one thing—bourbon—and do it the Wisconsin way: with their own grain, aged in uninsulated farm buildings through long winters and humid summers. Obviously, grain choice would come first. Joe remembered a striking red corn his father, Jerry, had grown decades earlier. Working with the University of Wisconsin, the Henrys obtained kernels of W335A, a 1939 UW-developed heirloom red hybrid. They spent nearly three years re-propagating enough seed to plant meaningful acreage. They then paired that corn with heirloom Spooner rye and UW-developed wheat, and grew all three crops on their own land.

With grain in place, the Henrys decided on a mash bill that reads like a love letter to their fields: 64% heirloom red corn, 14% heirloom glacier winter wheat, 14% spooner rye, and 8% malted barley (the only grain they source, albeit also from Wisconsin). Distillation of their new spirit began in 2009, and from the outset, they partnered with Paul Werni at 45th Parallel Distillery in New Richmond to create their new-make to spec. Contract distilling in those first days let the Henrys invest scarce dollars into long, patient aging on the farm rather than into a duplicate stillhouse, another choice influenced by their farm-first, conservative-quality mindset. Back in Dane, they filled full-size, new charred American oak barrels made of Wisconsin white oak, and seasoned for at least two years. When full, the barrels were racked in a converted 19th-century, uninsulated dairy barn. In that environment, the whiskey breathes with Wisconsin’s seasons: wood contracts hard in sub-zero winters and swells in summer heat, pushing and pulling spirit through the flavorful oak. The Henrys decided from the beginning that they wouldn’t release any whiskey before five years, a standard they still maintain.

From there, the timeline is clear. The flagship J. Henry & Sons Wisconsin Straight Bourbon debuted in 2015. Patton Road Reserve, a higher-proof, single-barrel cask strength, followed in 2016 and quickly found acclaim. In 2017, they launched Bellefontaine Reserve, their bourbon finished for eight months in Cognac casks using a French-inspired slow-reduction technique that the family calls “petite eau,” that is, barrel-rested proofing water that adds layered complexity. Each release remains rooted in the same four-grain new-make, the differences driven by barrel selection, proof, and finishing.

Through expansion and growth, some constants have held. Family remains at the center of the work, with all immediate family members contributing in some way. The grain still comes from Henry land of 80 to 100 acres of Heirloom red corn, plus wheat and rye. 45th Parallel still distills and bottles according to the family’s recipe before the spirit returns to Dane to mature.

The Henrys have also continued to deepen their blending program. Joe Z. Henry, Jr.’s title now includes Master Blender, and they’ve collaborated with renowned blender Nancy Fraley on limited editions, including an Anniversary Blend that incorporates reserved portions from prior years to build continuity and depth.

For all the accolades, the Henry story remains anchored in family and farmland. Joe and Liz built the bourbon business while maintaining their seed corn operation, each bringing complementary strengths: Joe’s lifetime on the land and Liz’s agricultural and business background. Their sons keep the enterprise disciplined while working the land and preparing for the next generation of farmer/distillers. Other family members help bottle, sell, and run tours to turn the brand’s growing name into a daily reality. The result is a Wisconsin straight bourbon with a distinct identity: heirloom grains, Midwestern maturation, and a family that chose patience over shortcuts and has a barnful of bourbon awards to show for it.

Sources:

J. Henry & Sons official website/Our Story, jhenryandsons.com
OnMilwaukee, “J. Henry and Sons bourbon sprouts…”, onmilwaukee.com, Sept. 24, 2020
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, “Meet: Joe and Liz Henry” Oct. 15, 2015
Destination Madison (WI), “Meet the Maker: Liz & Joe Henry,” www.visitmadison.com
FarmHer, “The Bourbon Babe of Wisconsin”, www.farmher.com, May 13, 2021
Wisconsin School of Business, “Mother and Son Business Badgers Serve Up Bourbon…”, Chris Malina, Spring/Summer 2023

Contributed by:Scott Meske, Bismarck, North Dakota, and Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee