Whistling Andy Distillery Grows into New Location

More than a decade ago, when Brian Anderson was scouting around for a facility to open a distillery operation, he found a small space in Bigfork during the height of the Great Recession and launched Whistling Andy Distillery.

In the last 12 years, the distillery has grown to distribute its whiskey, bourbon, rum, vodka and gin across a multi-state region as well as internationally in Taiwan and Canada. But without the proper license in the tasting room, they were restricted to serving two ounces of liquor per customer on a daily.

That’s set to change.

This spring, Anderson and his wife, Lisa Cloutier, purchased the former Flathead V-8 Ford Museum in Bigfork on Highway 35 through a handshake deal, opening 25,000 square feet of opportunity to produce spirits. The distilling aspect of the building is just 25 feet short of a football field in length and the front of the building is now home to Andy’s Crafthouse, a separate business with a full bar and restaurant, and the corresponding liquor license to boot.

“I remember looking at this building 14 years ago and just saying, ‘that would be perfect,’” Anderson said recently.

Now, that dream is coming to fruition as Anderson prepared to bring in more fermentation tanks and equipment to ramp up production, distilling up to nine times more than its current production volume.

In addition to favorite spirits like The Spirit of Sperry huckleberry vodka, hibiscus coconut rum and harvest select whiskey, distillers are getting ready to launch new recipes like a single-malt whiskey, which has been soaking in flavors for the past year-and-a-half.

Some of the oldest barrels of rum have been aging for 13 years in addition to a gin that has been barrel aging for nine years.

“It’s really neat how the botanicals play with the barrel-aging process,” Anderson said. “Our longest barrels are our cucumber gin that we put into our used bourbon barrels and it’s picking up a really neat vanilla pickle flavor.”

Whistling Andy also collaborates with Bonsai Brewing Project in Whitefish and trades whiskey barrels to add flavor. Bonsai produces a sour beer with the barrels and, once they’re finished, trades with the distiller again to age the pink peppercorn and pear gin.

Right before the pandemic, Anderson and Cloutier had plans to expand distribution to Japan, the UK, Australia and South Africa; however, those plans fell through as companies scaled back their operations. The potential to expand to Japan and other countries has since reignited, and there are also plans to grow in Canada.

In addition to the distillery, the business owners are also focusing their attention on the restaurant, with Andy’s Crafthouse offering items like Mission Valley-sourced lamb pasties, smoked trout chowder, ramen bowls and salads.

With a liquor license at Andy’s Crafthouse, there’s a full bar that serves beer, wine and other brands of spirits while also offering craft cocktails. Original cocktail recipes include the Whiskey West with harvest select whiskey, agave, bitters and cherry. As a nod to the former owner of the new building, staff also created Lyle’s V8, with harvest and rye whiskey, Cherry Heering Liqueur, lillet and orange bitters.

Boozy milkshakes and floats are also on the menu, like the spiked root beer float, the XXX with rum, espresso and ice cream and the maple bourbon.

Over the holidays, Andy’s Crafthouse will transform into a Whistling Wonderland, with Christmas cocktails with a retail section for holiday shopping. There will also be a North Pole cornhole tournament and Christmas trivia.

Now approaching its twelfth anniversary along with the New Year, Anderson, Cloutier and head distiller Gabe Spencer are excited to host an after-midnight anniversary and New Year’s Eve party at the new location, reveling in the late-night merrymaking after restrictions under their previous operating license prohibited them from staying open past 8 p.m.

“Our big event will be on New Year’s Eve,” Anderson said. “It will be the first time we will actually be able to stay open ‘til midnight.”

For more information, visit www.whistlingandy.com.