by Ellie Davis | Mar 28, 2024 | April 2024, Do
Bolster your whiskey knowledge and home bar via Olde Raleigh Distillery’s whiskey club.
Whiskey business just got a lot more serious thanks to Olde Raleigh Distillery’s recently expanded membership-based whiskey club. Started late last year, Olde Raleigh Whiskey Society has become so popular that it raised its membership count to 200 people in March—and is currently accepting new members who are itching to further immerse themselves in the wide world of whiskey and get their hands on truly exclusive bottles.
Those bottles? Rare. Not to mention they’ll save you the trouble of skipping the border to get your hands on unique spirits. “I am trying to create a place that gives you an experience you might get in Kentucky, but is right in our backyard in Raleigh,” says owner Brandon McCraney.
Members are guaranteed one rare whiskey bottle per month curated by McCraney—as well as first dibs on small-batch bourbon releases and private events. The master blender and distiller combines the distillery’s whiskey with whiskies sourced from around the world, meticulously studying each barrel to create the blends based on which flavor profiles work with each other.
Part of a growing national trend, Olde Raleigh Whiskey Society is joining the ranks of national distilleries’ membership clubs—see: Park City’s High West Distillery’s Saloon Society—and third-party retailers like Flaviar that curate boxes of whiskies from around the world to ship to you.
“With the membership club, I’m able to create rare and unique whiskies, like a 23-year-old 100-proof rye whiskey, a 23-year-old 142-proof blended whiskey and a 19-year-old barrel-proof bourbon,” says McCraney. “There will be less than 100 bottles of each.”
He credits the popularity of the spirited society to consumers yearning for something they can’t just grab at the liquor store. In-towners pick up their bottles in person at a monthly release event that includes tastings and insight from McCraney into the distinct blending process.
“We nerd out!” McCraney laughs. “We have a closed tasting session and dissect the whiskey, where it came from and the blending process.” Talk about a neat way to score some truly unique booze (!).
The bottle itself is a collectible that can be savored long after the last sips are gone. McCraney, who decided he was tired of the waste, thought, “What if we made a bottle you can reuse as a decanter?” And, so, instead of engraving the front of the bottle with the distillery’s logo, it’s etched on the bottom so the gorgeous glass bottle can be displayed sans a big label. How’s that for smooth sipping? $150 in-state membership, $175 out-of-state membership, olderaleighdistillery.com
by Ellie Davis | Mar 28, 2024 | Eat
Bolster your whiskey knowledge and home bar via Olde Raleigh Distillery’s whiskey club.
Whiskey business just got a lot more serious thanks to Olde Raleigh Distillery’s recently expanded membership-based whiskey club. Started late last year, Olde Raleigh Whiskey Society has become so popular that it raised its membership count to 200 people in March—and is currently accepting new members who are itching to further immerse themselves in the wide world of whiskey and get their hands on truly exclusive bottles.
Those bottles? Rare. Not to mention they’ll save you the trouble of skipping the border to get your hands on unique spirits. “I am trying to create a place that gives you an experience you might get in Kentucky, but is right in our backyard in Raleigh,” says owner Brandon McCraney.
Members are guaranteed one rare whiskey bottle per month curated by McCraney—as well as first dibs on small-batch bourbon releases and private events. The master blender and distiller combines the distillery’s whiskey with whiskies sourced from around the world, meticulously studying each barrel to create the blends based on which flavor profiles work with each other.
Part of a growing national trend, Olde Raleigh Whiskey Society is joining the ranks of national distilleries’ membership clubs—see: Park City’s High West Distillery’s Saloon Society—and third-party retailers like Flaviar that curate boxes of whiskies from around the world to ship to you.
“With the membership club, I’m able to create rare and unique whiskies, like a 23-year-old 100-proof rye whiskey, a 23-year-old 142-proof blended whiskey and a 19-year-old barrel-proof bourbon,” says McCraney. “There will be less than 100 bottles of each.”
He credits the popularity of the spirited society to consumers yearning for something they can’t just grab at the liquor store. In-towners pick up their bottles in person at a monthly release event that includes tastings and insight from McCraney into the distinct blending process.
“We nerd out!” McCraney laughs. “We have a closed tasting session and dissect the whiskey, where it came from and the blending process.” Talk about a neat way to score some truly unique booze (!).
The bottle itself is a collectible that can be savored long after the last sips are gone. McCraney, who decided he was tired of the waste, thought, “What if we made a bottle you can reuse as a decanter?” And, so, instead of engraving the front of the bottle with the distillery’s logo, it’s etched on the bottom so the gorgeous glass bottle can be displayed sans a big label. How’s that for smooth sipping? $150 in-state membership, $175 out-of-state membership, olderaleighdistillery.com
“I am trying to create a place that gives you an experience you might get in Kentucky, but is right in our backyard in Raleigh.”
— Brandon McCraney
by Lauren Kruchten | Mar 28, 2023 | April 2023, Eat
Take a bite out of Blue Shark Vodka’s limited-edition release.
If you’re looking for a buzz without the bite—aka a clean sip of vodka without the signature astringent taste—you’re gonna wanna grab a bottle of Blue Shark Vodka. Specifically the Wilmington-based distiller’s limited-edition Wyland Bottle (dropping May 1), which touts a label designed by world-famous ocean muralist and International Scuba Diving Hall of Famer Wyland. And for extra feel-good fuzzies with your buzz-y, $1 from each sale goes to the Wyland Foundation and its efforts promoting, protecting and preserving the world’s oceans, waterways and marine life. How fin-tastic!
“Wyland is the No. 1 marine artist in the world,” says founder and frequent diver Mark Bloomquist, aka “Mark the Shark” (it’s like he was born to own Blue Shark!). “He’s a friend of my family, a friend of mine. … And the Wyland Foundation is near and dear to our family’s hearts.”
It’s partnerships like those that serve as the backbone of Blue Shark, which also partners with the Atlantic Shark Institute. According to Bloomquist, one of the big focuses of the brand is to create awareness of the unique sharks and marine life that make coastal areas thrive—in addition to utilizing local ingredients like NC sweet corn in the award-winning spirit.
Those majestic finned creatures also served as the inspiration for Blue Shark’s signature OG vodka bottle feat. a handblown glass blue shark circling the bottom. Think of it like a ship in a bottle—and a sign that good times are on the horizon (!).
Keeping with the currents, Blue Shark can be found at select bars and ABC Stores throughout the state. And they don’t call it the “world’s smoothest vodka” for nothing. … The spirit works swimmingly in a cocktail—or on its own. One sip, and you’ll be hooked. bluesharkvodka.com
