FAQS

Why the name "Big Whiskey"?

That's easy - GO BIG OR GO HOME! It's a way of life. Giving it all you've got. Plus we do love a daily 4 pm happy hour on the porch:)

Why does your meat taste so good?

We work hard to raise a quality product from start to finish. That begins with great genetics in our herd for things like steak size and marbling, as well as ease of calving and birth weight/size. We graze our cows on our pastures their whole life creating stress free days for them. In addition to pasture grass, we finish our beef with oats and barley for an extended finish time of 180 days on free choice finish feed. We also dry-age the whole carcass 28 days, longer than the industry standard, giving premium flavor and tenderness to every cut. Everyone knows the saying "what you put in is what you get out." It couldn't be truer for our beef. We put in extra time, energy, and attention into our herd, and in return we get better tasting beef to offer our customers.

Are you organic?

We are not ‘certified’ organic, but we use all-natural ranching practices everyday. When you are not officially certified organic, an extremely expensive and bureaucratic process, legally you can not use the word organic. We are thoughtful in how we produce all-natural products, which is more important to us than any label.

Are you GMO-free?

Yes, all of our animals on the ranch is 100% GMO-free.

Is your beef hormone free?

Yes, our beef is 100% free of any kind of growth hormones.

Has your beef been treated with antibiotics?

No. The beef we sell is always 100% antibiotic free. When an animal needs an antibiotic for illness or injury, of course we treat that animal, which sometimes includes antibiotics. We will just "tag" and pull that animal from the direct to customer beef business. We still find other outlets for them after the proper withdrawal period is over. It's worth noting that beef is completely safe to consume after the proper withdrawal period from receiving an antibiotic. We've just made a conscious choice to provide 100% antibiotic free beef to our customers.

Is your beef grassfed?

Our cattle live on pastures at Big Whiskey Cattle Co. year round and eat our local and ranch raised pasture grasses. We finish our cattle on oats and barley for the best possible quality in marbling and taste. We believe grassfed and grass-and-oats/barley finish, with an extended finishing time of at least 180 days is the optimal way to raise our beef for consistent, premium quality and flavor with all the benefits of a grassfed lifestyle. We never feed corn, GMOs and all of our beef is 100% free from antibiotics, growth hormones and ionophores.

Do you ship beef?

Currently we do not. Located in White Post, VA we are just 1.5 hours outside Washington DC and currently arrange beef pick up from the ranch or from a designated pick up spot in Alexandria, VA.

What does dry-aging do?

Beef that is dry-aged has additional off the charts flavor and tenderness. It requires extra time, commitment, and cost - but it is worth it in the end when you slice a steak like butter or bite into a burger packed with flavor! Not all protein is the same. Beef benefits from aging after slaughter to promote tenderness and intensify flavor. Most of the beef in the US today is rushed from slaughter, prepped for transport, delivered to grocery stores, butchered into cuts - there is no time for dry aging. It's rush, rush, rush. Compared to dry-aging, where beef is left hanging just above freezing temperatures in a humidity controlled room with ample air flow, for at least 14 days - we prefer 28 days to maximize flavor and tenderness.

Dry-aging is one of the oldest preparation techniques. Paul & I are part of the movement of small family ranches that are working hard to turn this trend around. No shortcuts! Sometimes grassfed beef does not benefit from dry-aging because it is so lean, the beef can still lack flavor in the end product - that is why we've designed a free choice finishing feed with oats and barley to pack in the flavor. Without a doubt, taking the time and putting in the effort to dry-age all our beef is a key to making such great tasting beef.