What does it mean to be a “gentleman farmer”?
A tradition at least three centuries old, gentleman farming has its origins in the backyards of wealthy European elite who had both time and money to spare.
The phrase conjures images of a well-clad, well-to-do man in tweeds. Perhaps he’s strolling down a dirt road past a barn, a walking cane in one hand and a pipe in the other. He might stop to admire one of his horses, and to say hello to one of the many farm workers on his way home. Once returned to the cozy parlor at his estate, he likely enjoys a glass of whiskey as he reads a book of essays by the fire. He farms for pleasure rather than for income, and his independent wealth lets him get his hands dirty as the mood suits him.
(image courtesy of hypemeanseverything.com)
That WAS the image of a gentleman farmer, and to some extent it may still be. However, a new breed of gentleman farmer is on the rise.
WhistlePig Founder and CEO Raj Peter Bhakta.
The new gentleman farmer is rugged and luxurious, gentlemanly and audacious, authentic, aspirational, and tenacious. He or she cuts a style a bit more like George Washington, and our other Founding-Father gentleman farmers. They’re hands-on. They know what they want. They balance a care for efficiency and profit with the romantic nature of American farm estate life. Washington – with the help of his wife Martha, and many able workers – managed the estate and distillery at Mount Vernon. At his estate, he enjoyed fox-hunting, dancing, and entertaining guests – when he wasn’t turning his tobacco and rye whiskey ventures into profit.
The Wall Street Journal observed that the “movement has spawned its own lifestyle brand”, and indeed a Google search for “gentleman farmer” yields a diversity of clothing companies, restaurants, vacation spots, CSAs, handmade goods ateliers, and blogs. The portrait of the new gentleman farmer is highly defined at its core by a reverence for authentic agriculture, but the rest is a story to be written by the individual farmer himself (or herself).
For the family at WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey, the identity of the gentleman farmer is at the core of our adventure. It means rolling up your sleeves to chop wood, then donning a jacket to entertain guests. It gets you up at 4 A.M. to begin the day’s business before the rest of the world wakes up, even though you’ll be mixing Manhattans until midnight. When we’re not waist-deep in rye, you may find us nose-deep in a Winston Churchill biography, or up to our ankles in the mud of the pigpen. Every part of every process at WhistlePig farm – from the gritty to the glamorous – is beloved by the gentleman farmer.
Each week, this blog feature – “Diary of a Gentleman Farmer” – will showcase writing ranging from cerebral to humorous to entrepreneurial to audacious, straight from the mind and journals of our resident Gentleman-Farmer-in-Chief, WhistlePig Founder and CEO Raj Peter Bhakta.
One thing is for certain: as the apt leader of our multifaceted and motley crew of experts, and as tenacious spirit as they come, Raj’s insights from “Diary of a Gentleman Farmer” will never leave you wanting for entertainment, insight, and stories to call your own.
Cheers!
