Whiskey Acres with Nick Nagele Show Notes
Notes and Reviews for Whiskey Ring Podcast Episode 202: Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. with Co-Founder Nick Nagele
Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. has been on my radar for a little over two years. Many reschedulings (on both sides) and a baby later, I got to sit down with Nick Nagele to talk about how Whiskey Acres has grown over the past decade into a leader on corn varietals and an Estate Whiskey Alliance (EWA) member.
Nick and his co-founder Jamie both have multigenerational farming backgrounds (Whiskey Acres’ land is owned by Jamie and his family), though neither expected to go into the distilling business. And yet, in the early 2010s, they found themselves connected with Dave Pickerell, presenting an idea that at the time was relatively untouched: what if we focused on the types of corn we could grow and distill, all grown by us? It was a great match - it’s no coincidence that several members of the EWA were helped by Dave at one point or another. As another recent guest said, it’s not enough to be craft anymore, you have to be good and you have to have something that sets you apart.
Whiskey Acres has corn - and if you’re able to set yourself apart using corn in an oversaturated bourbon space, you’re doing something right.
On their 2000 acre farm about 60 miles west of Chicago, Jamie, Nick, and the team grow every grain that goes into their bottles. From the beginning, they've championed the idea that different corn has a different flavor; for however simple that statement may seem, it’s worth noting that while whiskey afficionados might know a few distilleries offhand that use unusual corn (perhaps Bloody Butcher or Jimmy Red, for example), the vast majority of the 3,000-ish distilleries in the US making whiskey are using yellow dent corn. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, of course, but in 2012-2013 we hadn’t yet seen the rye boom take off; barley was an afterthought, rarely grown on anyone’s farm and used mainly for its enzymatic content. Today, in 2025, we take for granted that dozens of distilleries are exploring heritage grains and new strains of rye, barley, wheat, and corn - Whiskey Acres was one of the first to do this, doubly so for corn.
Whiskey Acres has successfully grown and distilled green Oaxacan, glass gem, blue popcorn, Bloody Butcher, and a flint corn from Tuscany that they’ve cross-bred into a proprietary strain, with many others tried to one extent or another. Rye was added later, converted from a simple cover crop into a purposefully chosen non-varietal-specific mix that works beautifully with their whiskies.
The distillery is as transparent as they can be, with one exception: they are not ready to share what they believe scientifically makes their corn (and thus their distillate) better. According to Nick, this isn’t to be shadowy, it’s the simple reality of intellectual property concerns. Much like last week’s guest, Holyrood Distillery, the data will one day be made public when the time is right.
More than anything, I learned a hell of a lot about farming during this interview. I grew up in the suburbs and the city. My closest experience with farming is probably a farmer’s market. I knew only the basics of seed propagation and varietal lifespans, mostly from parallel conversations about rye and barley had with other distillers and producers. I may still be relatively ignorant, but I now have another resource to go to for questions on the leading edge of corn distillate exploration.
Thank you to Whiskey Acres for providing samples at no charge for the purposes of this interview. All opinions are my own.
Whiskey Acres Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Specs
Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Producer: Whiskey Acres Distilling Co.
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 15% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 10% Malted Barley
Proof: 87º (43.5% ABV)
Age: 4+ Years Old
Location: Dekalb, Illinois
Whiskey Acres Straight Bourbon Whiskey Price: $44.99
Whiskey Acres Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Tasting Notes
Eye: Copper. Medium sloughing rims and legs, teardrops falling quickly.
Nose: Grain silos and preserved lemon, a little citrus in the background. Toasting grain in a pan, a slow warming. Fresh shucked corn and just-burning husks. Oaked grape juice, no alcohol, odd yet familiar.
Palate: Quite fruity, jammy reds like tempranillo, black pepper hits the tip of my tongue, a touch numbing, gelatinous, coating the whole tongue. Gets heavier on the chew. Great texture for the proof. I don’t feel like it’s above its proof, it’s simply solid. The fruits soften, spreading into general stonefruits, cherries, and plums.
Finish: All mid-palate, fruit, a touch numbing, mild oak astringency pulls at my tongue on a medium length finish. Coating, fatty, remarkably so for 87 proof.
Final Rating: 7.0
Whiskey Acres Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Specs
Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Producer: Whiskey Acres Distilling Co.
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 15% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 10% Malted Barley
Proof: 100º (50% ABV)
Age: 5+ Years Old
Location: Dekalb, Illinois
Whiskey Acres Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey Price: $54.99
Whiskey Acres Bottled-in-Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Tasting Notes
Eye: Burnished copper to bronze. Thin rims, globules slough off, oily.
Nose: A bit more herbal, rosemary or thyme stems and fresh-pressed grapes. Apple orchards in fall with fruit on the ground and cider fermenting. Drying tobacco leaves, a touch of smoke from char. Corn pudding, suddenly, with a beautifully browned top.
Palate: My whole tongue lights up immediately, peppery and powerful and corn-forward without being grainy at all. Orange expressed onto a cocktail glass, real maraschino cherries, pleasant astringency highlights the sweet/bitter balance of the orange, cherries, and some red apples. Mouthfeel is viscous and a touch smoky, coating, almost sticky like a caramel apple.
Finish: Coating, more tobacco being smoked in Kentucky and roasting corn in the middle of a field. Tasting the color green, in a great way. Hints of maple syrup and burnt sugar. Medium, turns sweet.
Overall: Experiential - I felt like I was in a corn field where there was tobacco being dark fired, cooked and roasted corn, hints of rye as texture and barrel for just enough astringency to warm up and carry the other flavors. Really excellent and fruity, sweet, bitter, charred, I love it.
Final Rating: 8.2
Whiskey Acres Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Maple Syrup Casks: Specs
Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Finished
Producer: Whiskey Acres Distilling Co.
Mashbill: 75% Corn, 15% Soft Red Winter Wheat, 10% Malted Barley
Proof: 116.6º (58.3% ABV)
Age: 4+ Years Old (Plus Finishing Time)
Location: Dekalb, Illinois
Whiskey Acres Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Maple Syrup Casks Price: $69.99
Whiskey Acres Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Maple Syrup Casks: Tasting Notes
Eye: Maple with a slight haze. Medium regular rims, evenly spread legs and small drops.
Nose: Maple corn pudding-creme brulee mashup, yet somehow not too sweet, like the burnt sugar does just enough to keep it in check. Red spice drops, cinnamon sticks in hot apple cider. Lemon zest, proof barely noticeable.
Palate: Proof perks up my tongue, mostly on the front third. Maple sugar, some caramelizing sugar in a pan, some drizzled on grits for a sweet-savory dessert. The darker red fruits of the bourbon are highlighted at the expense of complexity, but still delicious. Mouthfeel is silky, light side of medium, circles the sides of my tongue. Mild astringency, a maple Manhattan.
Finish: Maple popcorn with a dose of white pepper. Sweet, but never sickly or syrupy. Medium length, astringent, and coating.
Overall: Sacrifices some flavor complexity seen in the bottled-in-bond to highlight the maple finishing, but it’s worth it for the sweet-savory battle royale. You never forget this is a corn-based spirit, nor do you lose the maple. Nicely balanced and great for the fall.
Final Rating: 7.5
