Ep 103: Raj Bhakta Created WhistlePig; Now He's Reinventing the Whiskey Industry (Again)

Raj Bhakta is best known as the founder of Whistlepig Whiskey. But he also served in the Marines, rode an elephant across the Rio Grande while running for Congress, won a spot on The Apprentice with Donald Trump, recently purchased a college, and is reinventing the whiskey game (again). He's a patriot and creator of one-of-a-kind spirits — with a personality to match.The son of immigrants, Raj grew up learning his father's hotel business before setting out on his own. After adventures in investment banking, reality TV, and politics, he saw an opening in high-end American whiskey — and he seized it. WhistlePig quickly became one of the premier craft whiskeys. After exiting in 2019, he secured one of the world's oldest stashes of Armagnac and launched his newest ventures: Hogsworth and Bhakta Spirits.Raj recently acquired the now-defunct Green Mountain College in Vermont, where he plans to build a new university grounded in our Founding values, along with a world-class spirit library. We sample his newest whiskeys, joke about religion and politics, and learn from a great American entrepreneur.00:00 Episode intro01:44 Why Raj bought a college03:32 Riding an elephant across Rio Grande08:49 Origin story of WhistlePig11:32 Growing up in America; joining Marines18:32 Acquiring world's biggest stash of Armagnac23:20 Building Hogsworth / how to blend whiskey24:13 Catholicism vs Judaism29:11 Working with Trump on The Apprentice32:03 Bhakta Spirits & why drink Armagnac39:40 Why Raj is building a new college44:35 Advice for entrepreneurs51:25 Bullying and adversity This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com