On my first trip to Kentucky in 2022, I needed one more distillery to visit before heading down to Nashville for the Tennessee portion of my trip. I could've gone to a heritage distillery - still haven't been to Jim Beam or Buffalo Trace - but instead, I took a chance on a small distillery in Christian County near the state line: MB Roland.

I got to go on the first-ever Distiller's tour, led by Paul, where we got to fill our own bottles right out of the casks. From there, we went into a makeshift bar under the beautiful visitor's center and sampled many, many more products, from a rye and a single malt to Pink Lemonade Moonshine, a favorite of bachelorette parties (don't knock it - besides being a great revenue source, it does actually taste great!).

What became clear was that this small distillery, founded by a husband and wife team in 2009 in the earliest days of craft distilling in the backyard of the biggest bourbon producers in the world, was trying to do something different. Spirits using local white corn, experimental mashbills, playing around with cask sizes (though most are 53 gallons), and most of all doing what they wanted.

It's a great place to visit with many different whiskies and spirits to try. Take the drive off the beaten path, it's worth it.

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Paul for entering the Whiskey Ring!

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MB Roland Distillery

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Ever seen a square pot still? No? Me neither. Apparently, for moonshiners in the Land Between the Rivers (now Land Between the Lakes) region, square stills were all the rage - they could be loaded into the back of a pickup truck, easily disassembled, and still put out high quality moonshine. And nobody did it better than Arlen Jones, better known as "Casey" because he only sold moonshine by the case.

Casey ended up in prison twice, the final time leading to him getting out of the still-making business for good. Fast forward a few decades, and in a truly ironic twist, the government came calling for him to make one more still (a working one, no less!) for the Land Between the Lakes visitors center - and he did. That still stands today in the Casey Jones Distillery.

When Casey's grandson, AJ, discovered his family's history (it was a poorly held secret), he decided to get into the game himself, too. A decade or so later, they have four mashbills of whiskey, are growing rapidly, and are the official bourbon of not one but TWO eclipses (they were in the line of totality for the 2017 solar eclipse and just outside of it for the April 2024 one).

Finally, they're also members of the State Line Trail with MB Roland in Kentucky and Old Glory Distilling in Tennessee - look for my episode with Paul at MB Roland next week!

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Cody for entering the Whiskey Ring!

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Casey Jones Distillery

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Old Line Spirits returns with some new looks! Since Mark and Old Line Spirits were last on the podcast back in Episode 54, they've made several changes to their brand. An updated label, a bumped-up proof (86 to 95) for the core single malt, and hints of a rye coming sometime in 2024...

Mark and Arch are two Navy buddies who founded Old Line in Baltimore, playing into the rise of American Single Malt. This was one of my favorite distillery visits, and if you find yourself in the DMV area, definitely hit them up for a tour and tasting!

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Mark for returning to the Whiskey Ring!

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Old Line Spirits

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Brian Sprance is New Riff's new master distiller! Aside from some good-natured ribbing from his colleagues, though, you would never know it.

New Riff named Brian Master Distiller after getting the blessing from Ebersold and co-founders Ken Lewis and Jay Erisman. Ten years after he started, he is now at the top.

Brian has been with New Riff since before they started producing, joining in 2013 during the final phase of installation. He's been mentored by some of the best in the industry, including Larry Ebersold of Seagram's/LDI/MGP. His story is exactly what you want in a master distiller - start at the bottom, learn every nook and cranny of the distillery, go through the expansions and changes, ultimately learning the ropes on the job at a single place.

His title is a recognition of the work he's put in - remember, this is a guy who ended up at a distillery because he had a non-compete that blocked him from joining a brewery, and had never distilled before. We as consumers are fortunate that we don't have to wait to taste his mark on the product - it's been there all along.

Whether it's playing with different grains, different malting levels, using peated casks, or sharing those whiskies with legends of the industry (Jim McEwan and John Glaser, anyone?), Brian knows how the New Riff plant will react. He shares his story, how he's grown, and - in my favorite question of the interview - whether he would accept the title of Master Distiller if he joined another distillery.

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Brian for entering the Whiskey Ring!

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New Riff Distillery

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Old Dominick isn't the oldest distillery in Tennessee, but it's no spring chicken either. The brand itself - including a stint as a whiskey blending house - goes back to 1866, the same year a Mr. Jasper "Jack" Daniel was setting up his own stillhouse a few hours east.

158 years later, D. Canale & Co. no longer has a food distribution business, but they do have a thriving distillery. Overseen by their energetic, Kentucky-born Master Distiller Alex Castle, Old Dominick has risen to quickly be one of Tennessee's premier craft distilleries.

Shortly after our interview, Alex announced that she was leaving Old Dominick for her next adventure. In the eight years she spent there, the distillery became a go-to destination in Memphis, putting out world-class Tennessee Whiskey as well as sourced products under their Huling Station line (an homage to the station near which the original D. Canale was based).

The bottom line is this: Old Dominick will of course miss Alex, and she has left her founding imprimatur on the entire portfolio. It is also in a fantastic position to go forward into its next chapter.

Congratulations to Alex on her next move, and best wishes to Old Dominick as they move forward - the great future is just beginning, and this is a distillery you need to watch and visit next time you're craving barbecue.

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Alex for entering the Whiskey Ring!

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Old Dominick Distillery

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Whiskey Jypsi's newest release - Explorer - seeks to show how the core identities of French and American oak species affect flavor in whiskey. They take the consumer on a world tour, stopping both in Eric Church's backyard (North Carolinian American white oak near to where Church grew up) and French oak from the Tronçais forest.

Neither wood is entirely new to American whiskey drinkers (especially white oak...it's what almost everyone uses as a new cask, right?), and French oak has been used enough to have a passing familiarity.

The difference here is how Ari and the Whiskey Jypsi team use the wood - and, most importantly, the use of new French oak rather than ex-wine casks or other used cooperage. By toasting and charring staves and inserting them to finish the whiskey - using the entirety of the stave, not just the thin layer that's been charred on the inside of a cask - much more flavor is extracted.

Note: I said flavor. Not oakiness. For all the wood exploration in this release, woodiness and tannins are not among the explorations. And thank heavens for that.

The story is intriguing - blend the influence of Tronçais forest's wood, formerly overseen by the Duke of Bourbon and the origin point for the troubadour tradition, with American oak from the home of the country artist behind the blend. As a plus, at least in media kits, we got small pieces of each wood type to smell and see, a sensory experience that greatly helped me in discerning which note was from which wood.

Ultimately, though, it comes down to the product at hand. After all, anyone can write a good story - it takes skill to translate that through the art of blending into a good whiskey. Enter: Ari Sussman, frequent friend of the podcast and all-around good source of whiskey knowledge.

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Ari for returning to the Whiskey Ring!

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Whiskey JYPSI

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Raj's return brings news about Amrut, the king of Indian Single Malt. It is no longer the only Indian Single Malt on the market like it was in 2004, but neither has Amrut been sitting on its laurels.

With Ashok Chokalingham at the helm as head distiller - a post he gained after many years in sales and production - Amrut is promoting the idea of Indian Single Malt while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of what that can mean.

With the four expressions I tried with Raj, each were an experiment. The Single Malts of India Kurinji was distilled at a different Indian distillery but aged entirely at Amrut's warehouses in Bangalore, 3000' above sea level with relatively low humidity. What would that whisky have tasted like at sea level? At its home distillery? Who knows - all I know is that it tastes damn good.

The Triparva is a triple-distilled single malt, echoing the butteriness and spice from Irish whiskies while staying true to the core Amrut profile (probably something to do with the 6-row instead of 2-row barley). The rye is a 100% malted rye, using Scandinavian grain but otherwise running it like they would a "normal" barley-based single malt; the spicy and herbaceous rye comes out like a custard, rounded and polished while still letting you know it's a rye.

Finally, the Naarangi, a whisky that uses sherry casks that have been seasoned for multiple years with locally grown oranges that give a distinctly tart flavor to cut through the sherry sweetness.

The sad news is that for two of the Amruts - the Rye and the Triparva - this is the last time they will be produced and released. The Naarangi is up in the air, but it won't be a regular release. Ashok has created over 40 different varieties of single malt based on flavors, casks, grains, and interplays between those three - there will always be more Amrut, but not always more of those releases. So grab them before they're gone (and if you listen to the episode and still don't want them, buy one for a friend).

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Raj for returning to the Whiskey Ring!

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Amrut Indian Single Malt

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I have a general rule when given the opportunity to interview NDPs on the podcast - they must do something with the whiskey other than buying stock and slapping their own label on it. Otherwise, how many times can you talk about the same MGP bourbon or rye? (Yes, I know there are other sources now, but the point remains).

With Filmland Spirits, they are doing some of their own blending, proofing, and - down the line - finishing. So right away they've cleared the first hurdle. Once you clear that, you have to be interesting - and Troy and Charlie have created that in spades.

With each release from Filmland, such as Ryes of the Robots and Moonlight Mayhem, a story is created. In classic b-movie style with horror, campiness, supernatural creatures, there are entire trailers, storyboards, posters, and more. Basically all that's missing is an actual movie being produced.

By doing this, Filmland Spirits does what we need most in bourbon right now: they have fun. These guys love what they're doing. They love their craft and how they can apply their years of screenwriting to another passion. Easter eggs are hidden in each label and poster, and samples are sent with thought-out names rather than "barrel #xxx".

Then, there's Town at the End of Tomorrow - a 9YO Kentucky Bourbon that was flat-out excellent when I tried it at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Definitely worth checking out (if you can still find it!).

Thanks everyone for listening, and thank you to Troy and Charlie for entering the Whiskey Ring!

_________________________________________________________

If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring

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Filmland Spirits

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Thanks to our Lead Sponsor, Black Button Distillery

• Black Button Distilling Website
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Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ImpEx Beverages

• https://impexbev.com
• ImpEx on Instagram
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