Dancing Goat Distillery, based in Cambridge, Wisconsin, has launched Stillman's Sonder, a two-expression premium whiskey portfolio priced at $70 per 750ml bottle — both aged a minimum of 10 years and now available via the brand's direct-to-consumer website and select U.S. retailers.
The Liquid
The Stillman's Sonder Straight Bourbon was matured in Andean and American oak barrels, including several double-oaked components, and bottled at 94 proof (47.0% ABV). The expression earned a Double Gold Medal and 98 points at the 2026 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and received a nomination for Best in Class in the 6- to 10-year-old Small Batch Bourbon category — a result that provides immediate third-party validation for a brand entering a crowded aged-bourbon market.
The American Single Malt, bottled at 96.4 proof (48.2% ABV), was distilled at MGP in Indiana and aged in Wisconsin. It passed through three rounds of blending, re-barreling, and finishing across five cask types: virgin oak, ex-bourbon, Wisconsin brandy, Cognac, and Calvados. That multi-cask finishing approach mirrors a production philosophy more common in Scotch and Irish categories, reflecting the growing ambition of U.S. craft distillers to compete on complexity alongside age.
Supply Origins
Both expressions trace their liquid to distillation runs conducted at MGP between 2010 and 2016 — a period when the Indiana distillery was executing large exploratory test batches that generated a surplus of unused barrels. The Maas family quietly acquired those orphaned stocks and held them for over a decade before committing to an 18-month blending and finishing program. That sourced-and-held model has become a viable route to market for craft labels seeking aged inventory without the capital burden of building barrel warehouses from the ground up.
The brand's lineage runs three generations: Duane Maas, who consulted on production methods at Seagram's and Chartreuse beginning in the 1950s; his son Tom, credited with helping expand small-batch bourbon's commercial footprint; and Nick Brady Maas, who now leads distillation and blending at Dancing Goat Distillery. "Stillman's Sonder is both a tribute and a celebration of everything made possible by the spirit makers of America's Heartland," said Nick Brady Maas, contemporary stillman and blender. "These expressions were also created for what he represented at the beginning — a Stillman."
Distribution and Positioning
Distribution is handled by Small Victories Imports, a boutique firm that develops and distributes emerging beverage brands. Limited single-barrel selections are available for both expressions alongside the core 750ml SKUs. At $70, the line positions itself in the accessible-premium tier of the aged American whiskey segment — below the ultra-premium ceiling of $100-plus allocated bourbons but above the mass-market floor, a price point that has drawn significant on-premise and specialty-retail interest as consumers trade up within spirits.
The launch arrives as the American single malt category gains regulatory and commercial traction following the U.S. government's 2024 formal standard of identity for the style, giving producers clearer labeling rights and consumers a recognized benchmark. For operators and buyers assessing the Stillman's Sonder lineup, the combination of a competition-validated bourbon and a multi-cask single malt at identical price points offers flexibility across cocktail programs and whiskey flights alike. Readers looking for broader context on the premium spirits market and craft distillery distribution can find additional coverage in the F&B Industry News archives.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
