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

If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website.

New Riff Distillery

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