Jack Wise

John L. “Jack” Wise came to Vermont whiskey by way of the mountains. With his daughter, Caroline Wise, he built Killington Distillery at the foot of one of New England’s best-known ski areas, combining whiskey production with a hotel, restaurant and year-round mountain destination. The venture was a considerable departure from the traditional stand-alone craft distillery, but it grew from the family’s longstanding connection to Killington. Jack and Caroline had spent many winter seasons skiing at Killington and nearby Pico Mountain, developing an attachment to the community that eventually led them to invest there.

Born in 1949, Wise worked in real estate development for many years before entering the distilling business. By 2019, he and Caroline were prepared to turn their familiarity with Killington from that of longtime visitors into something considerably more permanent. That year, the father-and-daughter duo purchased the Mountain Inn, a 49-room hotel close to the Killington ski slopes. The hotel remained in operation, but the former restaurant at the location had been vacant for roughly three years. Jack and Caroline undertook an extensive renovation of the property, and Caroline began considering what kind of business could complement both the hotel and the mountain. Vermont already possessed a strong craft-beer culture, and Killington even had a popular brewery of its own. Research pointed the Wises toward distilled spirits, a category showing growth and offering an opportunity to create something different in the Killington market. Unfortunately, the timing could hardly have been more difficult. The distillery’s stills were scheduled to arrive in March 2020, just as Vermont entered the emergency conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction continued at a snail’s pace, building materials were hard to come by, and the planned opening was ultimately pushed back several months. Killington Distillery began emerging from that disruption during the summer of 2020, with Still on the Mountain, its associated restaurant and cocktail bar, opening on August 21 after the renovation of the former eatery.

Right away, whiskey became an important part of the distillery’s identity. Head distiller Ryan Bremser, who came from the beer and kombucha industries in New York, was responsible for developing a broad spirits portfolio for the operation. Killington eventually offered conventional bourbon whiskey alongside Maple Cask Bourbon and its limited 4241 Blended Whiskey Series,  named after Killington Peak, which rises to an elevation of 4,241 feet. The series consists of limited blends that change approximately every 250 bottles, making successive releases distinct rather than maintaining one permanently fixed expression. Maple Cask Bourbon became one of Killington Distillery’s signature bottles and provided an unmistakably Vermont connection. The bourbon is aged with maple syrup obtained from a nearby Vermont farm.

With the success of their properties, Jack and Caroline subsequently began planning something even larger. They acquired approximately 58 acres near the intersection of U.S. Route 4 and Vermont Route 100 and pursued development of a new Killington Distillery complex. Plans called for a 15,000-square-foot distillery building containing a 200-seat restaurant, together with a separate warehouse for barrel storage, employee housing and associated infrastructure.

For Jack Wise, Killington Distillery has developed from a hotel redevelopment into a whiskey-centered mountain business with ambitions for a much larger permanent home. Maple Cask Bourbon connects the whiskey to Vermont agriculture, while 4241 Blended Whiskey connects it directly to the mountain whose elevation supplies its name. The proposed new distillery, restaurant and barrel warehouse will reinforce Jack Wise’s commitment to the beautiful place he has come to love. It is he and Caroline’s expectation that visitors to their mountainside distillery can understand why after just one experience.

Sources:

  1. Killington Distillery official website, killingtondistillery.com

  2. Seven Days, “Drinking and Dining at New England’s First Hotel Distillery in Killington”,  Jordan Barry, February 21, 2023, sevendaysvt.com

  3. Mountain Times, “New to Killington: The Still Now Open,” staff, August 26, 2020, mountaintimes.info

  4. Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery, “Annual Report—Made in Vermont,” no individual author given, 2025, vermont.gov

  5. North American Bourbon & Whiskey Competition, “2023 NABW Awards,” no individual author given, 2023, whiskeycomp.com

Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee