Developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1939, a corn known as W335A sat overlooked in a seed bank for decades. Today, that red heirloom corn is what sets apart J. Henry & Sons whiskey and bourbon. They’re the only ones in the world using it.
Grown for three generations at the Henry family farm in Dane County, W335A fell out of favor in the 1970s when higher-producing options became more available. It sat untouched at UW-Madison until 2006, when the Henry family began propagating the seed again. They began turning it into whiskey in 2009, and in 2015 J. Henry & Sons sold its first bottles.
Joe Z. Henry is one of the sons in the name. While he grew up on the farm, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be in the family business. He was just a teen when they began making whiskey. He went off to UW-Madison, then Chicago for a career in sales. To help the family business, he began doing tastings after work. As he shared their story, he also focused on educating himself and his palate. In 2018, he returned to the business full-time.