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Foundation’s latest release is hyperlocal, super creative and boasts major flavor.
Leave it to Foundation to launch a whiskey with literal roots in Raleigh. To toast the grand opening of Gipson Play Plaza at Dix Park, the iconic underground bar just unveiled Dix Whiskey—a bourbon so local, it was aged via a tree that once stood in the park itself.
“We’ve had this idea for a long time… getting some local oak trees and finding a way to age whiskey,” recalls Foundation owner Kyle Hankin. That vision finally came to life thanks to a wild little invention called the Squarrel—a steel structure that acts like a customizable aging barrel. “You can change what the wood is, you can change the char… total flexibility,” describes Hankin.
When the city removed several trees during construction, Hankin and his team seized the moment. They teamed up with custom furniture maker Raleigh Reclaimed to turn salvaged white oak into staves for the Squarrel, giving the whiskey a hyperlocal finish no other spirit can claim.
But they didn’t stop there. To fill the barrel, they tapped Cook’s Mill, an NC-based distillery that uses heritage corn developed with help from NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “All the grain that’s in Cook’s Mill is made in North Carolina and grown in North Carolina,” notes Hankin. “As far as bourbon goes, it’s as local as it gets.”
Flavorwise, Dix Whiskey hits in all the right ways. “A little more vanilla, a little more caramel… still has a really nice kind of spicy finish, maybe even a bit of red berry,” says Hankin. At Foundation, you can get it neat, on the rocks or in rotating house cocktails like an old-fashioned.
And as for feel-good points? You’ll get those too, as a portion of the proceeds from all sales are going toward the Dix Park Conservancy. So whether you’re a whiskey nerd, a park lover or just thirsty for something fresh, this is one small pour for man, one giant sip for Raleighkind.
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