Whistlepig whiskey has found a new CEO in Charles Gibb, a veteran of almost 40 years of the spirits industry, while the brand explores new roads for growth ahead. Shoreham -based distillery, based in Vermont, exclusively shared the news with Fast companyAlmost four months after announcing that his previous CEO had resigned.
Whistle I made a splash on the scene of the spirits by debuting his first rye whiskey in the 2010, taking advantage of reintroducting drinkers to this whiskey style once popular. The company quickly began to accumulate fans and a prize after another, even landing first flat on television programs such as Breaking Bad That was not organized as product colocations.
Fast progress until today, and Whistlepig spirits are sold in more than 140,000 bars, restaurants, hotels and retail locations worldwide and the brand has a market share of 34% of the category of Centeno Ultra prize whiskey, according to 2024 IWSR figures shared by Whistlepig.
But for a period, many holders on Whistlepig had less to do with their drinks and more with the drama that develops behind its distillery doors. Founder Raj Bhakta was forced in 2016, which resulted in a disorderly legal dispute that finally saw it Sell your stake And whistlepig is completely left in 2019. Jeff Kozak, who became CEO in 2017, left in January to “look for other opportunities.” The former Dave Pickerell distiller, who helped shape Whistlepig, died unexpectedly in 2018.
Now, Gibb joins while the company seeks to become a “total American whiskey business” and expand beyond its rye roots. Gibb recently led the US Dyver-Tree division until the beginning of this year, when Molson Cours acquired a participation in the mixing business. He also spent several years as president and CEO in Belvedere Vodka and in several roles in Moët Hennessy and Diageo.
While there are fun things about the whiskey, the Scotsman has a new appreciation for the American spelling of the spirit, for example, Gibb says he is “really excited” to come to Whistlepig when the industry is in a state of flow. And, he says, he wants the brand to be “really famous.”
The last years have seen Whistlepig evolve in several ways, something about which Gibb intends to build. The brand sold minority investments to LVMH and an investment firm led by Byron D. Trott, associated exclusively with Southern Glazer as its national distributor, expanded to a single malt and Bourbon, hired a woman as the main blender, and later this year will open a tasting room in the center of Louisville.
Gibb sat down with Fast company Talk about what follows for Whistlepig. (Transcription has been slightly edited for clarity and length).
What are some of your goals during the first months in your new role: you have a list of verification of things you would like to achieve?
This is a beautiful brand. It is still in a position that fits all the things that I love with a great brand: it is dynamic, it is entrepreneur, it is very innovative. [say]”Let’s make many changes.”
The most important thing for me in the first three or four months is to learn, learn, learn.
Really putting myself up to date, I think that is the most important thing and ensuring that we do not lose the impulse. The business has had a great boost over the years. Now it has a solid impulse despite the challenges in the industry, which are well documented. But we are in a good place to address some important opportunities.
What was so convincing to come to Whistlepig, and especially at this time?
A lot of things.
Number one, I love the spiritual space of the premium brand. Every time the brand mentioned people, people have this love for the brand. They have a real respect for it. So he is loved and respected, I think those are two different things.
It is really very respected by the quality of the liquid; It is very respected by innovation. He is admired and respected by the way they revolutionized the category of rye whiskey in North America. And those things are really important to me.
I guess, like a Scotsman who likes to interrupt things, was quite fun, the idea of working in an American whiskey business.
I also love this aspect of the brand, this whole idea of zero generations of tradition. I think that allows you to innovate, allows you to change the rules of the game.
What will this next era of Whistlepig define?
Initially we were famous for our rye whiskeys, and I think we are now looking to explore and expand even more. We have recently launched Bourbon of 10 years, so I think there is an opportunity to become a total American whiskey business.
I think the other great opportunity is really in this beautiful and iconic brand, and how do we really make it famous in the US markets and international? But let’s be famous at home first.
We are loved, but we are not still famous, well, we are famous in certain circles, but not even more famous.
How is an alcoholic beverage company approaching at a time when people drink less alcohol?
It is certainly an interesting time to be in the industry.
There is still all this idea of drinking less, but better. It is still really fundamental in the minds of consumers: I may drink less, but every time I take a drink, I will make sure I am drinking my best, and I will enjoy it.
I am really excited to be able to enter a brand in an industry in a state of flow and actually find our niche, find our place and be able to really boost it.
These times generate higher levels of creativity and, as a small brand with zero generations of tradition, I think it allows us to be faster, flexible and do innovative and differentiated things.
Do you see any challenge of leading a whiskey company versus a vodka company?
Much older in the product, that’s safe.
It is fun because we all play in the same industry, and we all play with similar consumers. You are talking to the same consumer on a different occasion, and I can see that a Belvedere Martini drinker is a whistle drinker and depends on the occasion, depends on the people with whom they are, time of the year, time of day and different things.
There have been some great changes in Whistlepig in recent years. Following some of these changes, how will you get to lead the company?
The first and the most important thing is the brand and the business has done very, very good. So I am about to celebrate the people who began it, the founders, who celebrate the achievements. And now, how do we grow from here? I think that’s the most important thing.
The good thing is that there is a great team of gathered people, they have a phenomenal knowledge of the brand and business, as I have seen in the first week on board, they are extraordinarily passionate and have delivered some new products, innovations, growth, etc.
My work at this time is a lot to learn from them and then we will sit collectively, as a leadership team and then as a broader company, and we will take everything to the next level.
#Whistlepig #whiskey #taps #veteran #charles #gibb #drink #industry #CEO
