Stephen O’Shea
Hush & Whisper Distilling in Downtown Bryan has made a remarkable debut on the international spirits stage by winning prestigious awards for both their original gin and original vodka at the American Distilling Institute’s International Spirits Competition (ADI ISC).
This new distillery, which opened its doors less than one year ago, has already garnered significant recognition, underscoring its commitment to quality and craftsmanship.
The Journey to Excellence
While Hush & Whisper opened its doors just last year, the genesis for this venture began years before when Caleb Clanton returned to Bryan/College Station after attending Moonshine University in Kentucky and decided to launch a distillery.
From the beginning, Caleb committed to going big. In that first year, he purchased distilling equipment from the number one manufacturer of whiskey stills in the nation: Vendome Copper and Brassworks. He also targeted the best cooperage for bourbon barrels (whose waitlist can exceed 5 years for a single barrel), the best available venue with the Varisco Building, and lastly, the best distiller, Aaron Schorch.
Aaron’s distilling journey began at Seagrams Whiskey in 1995, where he worked as a distillery operator for 12 years. He advanced his career by moving to Jim Beam’s original distillery in Kentucky. From there, he branched out to begin his own career as a head distiller. When Caleb and Aaron crossed paths in Lexington, Ky., Aaron had recently launched and revitalized a craft distillery of a similar size to Hush & Whisper, finding success with limited resources. After a series of conversations and meetings, Aaron was ready to join the Hush & Whisper team and move his family down to Aggieland.
“It’s amazing to see the body of knowledge he has, and that he is bringing to Hush & Whisper,” Caleb says. “He truly is a jack of all trades.”
Together, Caleb and Aaron spent two years developing mash bills for their vodka, gin and whiskey products. While many distilleries use bulk-purchased grain neutral spirits (GNS) and redistill them, Hush & Whisper takes pride in their grain-to-glass process. This involves sourcing corn directly from local farmer Lee Denena, then milling, mashing, fermenting and distilling it themselves. With the highest quality of equipment, ingredients and craftmanship, their distilling process — which began just last June behind the closed doors of the Varisco Building — is already being recognized.
Featured by Forbes Magazine, among other prestigious ranking outlets around the globe, Hush & Whisper was recently awarded a gold medal and “Best Classic Gin ” for their original gin at the 2024 ADI ISC. This original gin greets you with a blend of juniper, citrus and botanical notes, underpinned by a subtle hint of spice: a testament to its exemplary quality and masterful balance of traditional and contemporary qualities.
But the accolades didn’t stop there. Hush & Whisper was also awarded a silver medal for their original vodka, which has joined the ranks of other silver medalists like Reyka and Absolut vodka. Their vodka’s flavor is derived from using a bourbon mash bill and distilled 24 times to reach 192-proof. This vodka exemplifies the same grain-to-glass philosophy, resulting in a spirit that stands out for its smoothness and character.
In addition to the ADI ISC honors, Hush & Whisper’s gin and vodka both secured Silver Medals at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of the most prestigious and competitive spirit competitions in the world.
“It feels validating to see our products recognized so soon after we have opened to the public,” Caleb says. “Our team has been working on this distillery since 2018 to make it a reality. So to see the Hush & Whisper name next to other great spirits feels like an affirmation of all the hard work we have put into this company.”
The Hush & Whisper team will be attending the awards ceremony in August, where they will receive their physical medals. This event will be a moment of celebration and a showcase of their achievements, which they plan to spotlight as a prelude to more accolades ahead.
A Taste of What’s to Come
While Caleb and Aaron pride themselves on the self-evident success of their craftsmanship, they didn’t launch Hush & Whisper to be a clear-spirits distillery. According to the pair, the best is yet to come.
“To be a bottled-in-bond bourbon, your whiskey has to age for about four years,” Caleb explains. “We are approaching one year of distilling and barreling our bourbon, which is a huge milestone for us on the path to bottling our whiskey.”
To commemorate one year of distilling and aging their bourbon, Caleb and Aaron plan on hosting an anniversary celebration event open to the public, where guests will have the special opportunity to sample the distillery’s aging spirits directly from the barrel. This event offers a rare chance to learn about and taste these craft spirits in the middle of their aging process: an opportunity that highlights Hush & Whisper’s goal to encourage education and discovery.
“We continue to drive towards perfection of the products that were submitted for awards, as well as the spirits we are aging,” Aaron says. “There are so many aspects to this process that no matter how hard we try we can always become more consistent, find new combinations of ingredients and improve our processes.”
The Future is Gold
Hush & Whisper originally intended to wait until their bourbon was aged and bottled before distributing their gin and vodka, but Caleb says that plan might be evolving.
“With these awards, we are having a lot of interest from out of state and out of the country, so you might see our gin and vodka in stores soon,” Caleb says.
Meanwhile, their rye whiskey, which doesn’t adhere to the same four-year standard as bourbon, is projected to be aged and bottled as early as next summer. While we wait for bottles to start popping up in stores, anyone can go to Hush & Whisper Distilling in Downtown Bryan to buy bottles of their original vodka, gin and white whiskey.
The success of Hush & Whisper is more than a personal triumph for the distillery. This achievement shines a spotlight on all of Downtown Bryan, showcasing the community as a hub for innovation and quality craftsmanship, as well as a destination for visitors, tourists and whiskey enthusiasts around the world.
Hush & Whisper Distilling is located at 219 N. Main St. in Bryan and is open to the public on Thursday and Friday from 2 to 11 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information about Hush & Whisper, visit their website at hushandwhisper.com.
