Cattle & Cask Distillery to revitalize Wisner, Nebraska

Wisner, Neb. – After seven years of planning, the town of Wisner, Nebraska, is set to become home to one of the state's largest distilleries. Cattle & Cask Distillery, a brand new 12,000-square-foot facility, is the realization of a long-held dream for owners Becky and Matt McGuire, along with Becky's father, Chris Vinton.

"Cattle & Cask is a distillery with a tasting room," said Becky McGuire, owner and master distiller. "We can make spirits of any kind, such as bourbon, whiskey, vodka, and gin, to name a few."

The family's agricultural roots are central to the distillery's operation. With a combined hog, cattle, and crop operation, they have the resources to produce their spirits from homegrown ingredients.

The process begins with grain and corn planted in the spring. "We will take that grain and mill it into something somewhat like flour," McGuire explained. "Then we will cook it. So, that's where the process of making whiskey starts: you mill the grain, cook it with hot water, and add yeast to create fermentation, similar to how you would start baking bread."

The distillery also ensures that no resources are wasted by using the byproduct, whole-stillage, as livestock feed.

Cattle & Cask plans to sell drinks on-site and distribute its products to retail bars, grocery stores, and liquor stores, potentially expanding beyond Nebraska. The distillery aims to be more than just a business; with a capacity of over 100 people, the owners envision it as a community gathering place.

"We hope to have events like live music, food trucks, floral bouquet arrangements for ladies' night, a harvest festival, and things like that," McGuire said.

The distillery also hopes to create stable jobs for the town of Wisner and surrounding communities. While the exact labor needs are still being assessed, the goal is to provide employment in both production and the tasting room. Although an official opening date has not been set, Cattle & Cask anticipates opening with regular business hours in the summer of 2026.

"Overall, we hope this could become an ag-tourism spot in Nebraska, similar to Kentucky's bourbon trail, where one can learn about different distilleries and their history," McGuire said. "We just want it to be a great gathering spot for the community and a place people can come and enjoy life outside of work."