"In a nondescript commercial building a few miles from the honky tonks of Lower Broadway, Whiskey House - Nashville hides in plain sight. Through a cluttered antechamber, more than 5,500 bottles line its walls, which founder John G. Brittle, Jr., 60, claims is the largest collection of open whiskies in the U.S., and maybe the world. In grass-stained jeans and a dirty black T-shirt (he spent the morning gardening), Brittle explains that expressions are organized by origins: Kentucky and Tennessee have adjoining rooms; Indiana, home to the mass-distiller MGP Ingredients, occupies a hallway. The Chapel, complete with upholstered pews and surrounded by distilling relics, hosts industry nights and trustee meetings. And then there’s the Vault, where only the rarest whiskies are displayed: the Pappys, Wellers, the Michters. “‘The whiskey experience of a lifetime,’” he says, brandishing an engraved snifter with the motto. “People want an experience, and we’ve created one.” Established in 2019 as a 501(c)(3) and in its current location for the past three years, WHN has harnessed America’s infatuation with its native spirit into a philanthropic tour de force. Through auctioned rare whiskey tastings, it has raised more than $1 million in the last two years for charity partners with missions ranging from the hyper-local to national in scope. “You can go to a bar and drink good whiskey,” Brittle says. “[At WHN,] you’re drinking extraordinarily rare stuff that you can’t get at a bar.”" - Jon Gugala
