By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

When John Evans left his job in IT to farm full time, he wanted to discover new ways he could use his corn.

Evans’ family has been farming and ranching in Central Texas since 1867 when six Wilson brothers decided to make the move. One of those brothers was Evans’ great-great- grandfather.

“I didn’t want to see 150 years of tradition go away,” he said.

Instead, Evans embraced innovation.

He’s taken the family’s agricultural legacy and mixed it with a passion for distilling bourbon.

And that’s how Wilson Valley Mercantile was born.

Farm distillery
In 2020, Wilson Valley Mercantile became the first and only legal distillery in Bell County.

Two years later, it opened as a farm distillery where the commodities grown on the farm are used and served at the distillery.

“We decided to call it a farm distillery because that’s exactly what we are. We’re a farm and ranch bringing our commodities in to make our own spirits,” Evans said.

The distillery has two bourbons comprised of the same mash: 51% corn, 34% wheat and 15% oats. All three grains are grown on the farm in Little River-Academy.

The Evans family also raises cattle and serves their beef in the tasting room.

From grain to glass
Once the corn has been harvested, it’s either sold as deer corn or is used in the distillery.

When the grains are used in the distillery, they are weighed in specific amounts for the spirits Evans is going to distill.

Bourbon is made up of 51% corn mash, and rye whiskey requires 51% rye grain.

The distilling process is completed in seven steps.

The milling process transforms the raw ingredients by crushing the grain into a fine powder called grist. The grist is then used in the mashing process where it is combined with hot water to create a mixture known as mash.

Enzymes in the mash begin to break down the starches in the grains into simple sugars.

“The process of taking raw grain or corn is more or less a chemistry experiment,” Evans, a Bell County Farm Bureau member, said. “You’re taking a complex sugar, and you’re running it through a process of milling and mashing. During it, you’re adding enzymes to help break down those complex sugars into simple sugars.”

Fermentation occurs next by introducing yeast to the mixture and turning it into ethanol. The process results in the production of alcohol and the development of flavor compounds.

From there, distillation begins to increase the alcohol content and refine the flavors. The spirits are aged in new American or French oak barrels to further develop flavors, aroma, color and other unique characteristics.

“For bourbon, there is no requirement about time. We choose not to bottle anything before it’s been in the barrel for at least a year,” Evans said. “The purpose behind barreling the spirits is to get all the characteristics of the wood itself to influence that spirit.”

Once the spirit has aged to the desired level, it is removed from the barrels and is ready to be bottled. From there, the spirits are sold to those who visit the farm distillery.

Honoring history
Carrying on his ancestors’ tradition, but with a modern twist, Wilson Valley Mercantile offers customers a unique experience while also telling the story of agriculture. Guests can enjoy a visit to the distillery’s tasting room accompanied by live music from local musicians.

“Ultimately, our goal for the future is to provide a one-of-a-kind experience—something you cannot get anywhere else,” Evans said. “We’re applying today’s technology and today’s processes to something that has been done a hundred years ago.”

The fifth-generation farmer combined his passion for farming with a product consumers can enjoy and said it’s an “epic feeling” being a part of so much history and heritage.

And the farm distillery is Evans’ way to serve up a great time for his guests through food and craft cocktails with a side of agricultural history and storytelling.

“There’s not really anywhere else in Texas where you can come and have this particular experience— to be on a farm and ranch that has the heritage that we have and also be able to buy beef in one hand or spirits on the other hand that were raised right here,” he said.

Steeped in history. Moved by the spirit. And pouring your heart and soul into your calling. Evans will raise a glass, or two, to that.