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.