Ben Hudson Photography
When Prohibition Pig opened just over a decade ago, high-quality Southern fare with barbecue and a big-time whiskey program were almost impossible in Vermont. But this bar and restaurant changed the paradigm for both, and it remains the premier stop for whisky lovers in the Green Mountain State.
Prohibition Pig sits right on Main Street in the heart of Waterbury’s historic district, about three minutes from the highway exit that’s also the gateway to Stowe, Vermont’s most famous ski resort and vibrant four-season tourism spot. Skiers, hikers, and visitors all year round routinely make the short (l5-20 minutes) exodus from Stowe–with no shortage of great bars and restaurants of its own–to reach the Pig. Waterbury is also home to another foodie favorite, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, whose factory tour is one of the state’s most popular attractions. You can be indulging childhood sweet tooth fantasies one moment and five minutes later belly up to the bar for more adult delights.
Prohibition Pig looks like a traditional Vermont house, and inside it offers a home meets country general store meets barbecue joint aesthetic, with wood floors, wood walls, thick wooden beams, exposed brick, and high barn-like ceilings. The décor is a mix of local art, taxidermy, old bottles, and barrels. The interior is one large space split down the middle into a bar and dining room by a low half wall, with a cocktail ledge and barstools. The bar is long and curved with about two dozen stools, and behind it is floor-to-ceiling shelving that displays the wares, complete with a library sliding ladder mounted to a metal top rail to access the upper shelves. Like any good Southern barbecue spot, each table has an array of hot and barbecue sauces, but here they’re displayed in Booker’s bourbon crates.
Prohibition Pig also owns a craft brewery right next door, where Vermont craft beers are on tap, but whisky is the big focus. There are 17 different whisky flights (plus three each for mezcal and rum, along with cognac, fernet, and others), sorted in quirky ways. Some are by brand, like Old Forester (1897 Bottled in Bond, 1910 Old Fine Whiskey, 1920 Prohibition Style) along with Knob Creek, Ardbeg, Glenfarclas, Highland Park, Laphroaig, and Balvenie. Others are by spirit, such as Kentucky straight rye (Sazerac, Pikesville, Kentucky Owl 10 year old Batch #4), Irish whiskey (Middleton Very Rare 2017, Redbreast 12 year old Cask Strength, Bushmills 16 year old Single Malt) or a mix, as in the Rye, Wheat, Corn (Willet’s Family Estate Rye, Bernheim Wheat, Russell’s Reserve). More offbeat categories include Cask Strength, Aged, Bottled in Bond, Wild Finish, Mystery Distiller, and to fit Japan’s revered Yamazaki in, World of Whisk(e)y. To kick off ski season, December is “Build Your Own Scotch Flight” month.
Vermont is highly regulated, with its state liquor stores, and so allocated offerings go into a lottery. Prohibition Pig beverage director Jackson Strayer-Benton often builds new flights around them. “Our fastest-selling flight ever was Bloodline, for $60, with Weller Single Barrel, Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year old, and Old Fitzgerald 19 year old. That was really fun for the whiskey historians out there.”
All the flights include three 1-ounce pours and range from $28-$95 and cumulatively comprise the “Liquor Society” menu, which has its own club, with members getting gifts such as shirts and tasting glasses for trying 10, 20, or 30 different flights. If that was the entire whisky program it would be impressive. But Prohibition Pig also has around 140 whiskies in its thick “Liquor Book,” with oddities like Orphan Barel Muckety Muck single malt scotch ($45) alongside selections under ten bucks, such as Early Times Bottled in Bond and Old Overholt 4 year old. Fittingly, the priciest option is Vermont’s own WhistlePig The Boss Hog IX Siren’s Song at $95.
There are also a handful of private cask selections, including Knob Creek Select single barrel rye and Buffalo Trace Select single barrel bourbon, as well as Xicaru Reposado Select mezcal and Rhum JM rum. Finally, there is a large craft cocktail list, and the top two whiskey-based sellers are both ones you won’t see elsewhere: East Fork of Mulberry Creek (named for the waterway at the Jack Daniel Distillery), with Jack Daniel’s Bonded, blackberry, mint, lavender, and black tea ($13), and Brooklyn Pig, with the bar’s own Knob Creek Select rye, Cocchi Americano, Averna, and maraschino ($15).
