I just learned about another N.C. craft distiller hoping to get bottles in ABC stores by the end of the year. Blue Ridge Distilling Co. based in the Golden Valley area of Rutherford Count is owned by Tim Ferris, who operates Defiant Marine, an international commercial marine salvage company.

Steve Heineman, the distillery's business office manager, says their first product will be called Defiant Whiskey, a single-malt American whiskey made from 100 % barley and aged for six months to a year. A fifth will cost about $78, which Heineman points out costs less than most bottles of similar products at $80 to $100.

Eventually, Heineman says, they will sell a whiskey aged for four years and seasonal brandies. For  more information, go to blueridgedistilling.com.
 

Southwest Airlines plans to add a nonstop flight between Raleigh-Durham International and St. Louis this spring.

The move follows an announcement last month by American Airlines that it was pulling the plug on its nonstop between the two cities. American currently operates the only nonstop to St. Louis from RDU but said it would end that flight next year as it focuses expansion at larger airports.

Southwest will offer one nonstop daily between RDU and Lambert International beginning in May. Tickets will go on sale starting in December.