b"Dick & Marti were a bit ahead of the curve when they Petersburg,and WinterParksRavenousPig.Itmayalsobestarted Palm Ridge Distillery. Now, its a really good time to be found in Total Wine, ABC Liquors and some Publix Liquora whiskey maker, and craft distilleries are all the rage. But, legal- stores throughout Florida.ly distilling whiskey is not as easy as making the decision to do Our inspiration for visiting Palm Ridge Distillery was toso. In addition to the start-up costs and the huge learning curve, learn about its distillery dogs. The result of our visit was a new-the state license costs $4,000 a year and each gallon of Palm found appreciation for whiskey and respect for the people whoRidge Reserve pays state and federal taxes of $20. Thats about pour their hearts into craft distilling. triple the combined levy for beer and roughly double that of As we walked the property with Marti and Dick, Mamwine. Its a big hit for a small company that manages to produce had finally warmed up to us, actually nuzzling Steves hand atabout 1200 gallons a year. one point. That seemed to be a signal for Boop and Pete, whoFurthermore, convincing liquor drinkers that smooth, fla- ran up to us and rolled over on their backs. We noticed a petvorfulwhiskeycanbemadeinplaceslikeMarionCounty, cemeterybehindthebarnwhereallofthefamilypetsareFlorida and not just Kentucky, Tennessee, Canada or Ireland is buried, including their last horse, put down in 2011. A dozen orstill a challenge. A Diageo survey about American whiskey has so cattle still roam the property without fear of being sold off.(Left to right): The 60-gallon reflux column still; The whiskey is aged for eight months in specially-charred five gallon white oak barrels.Poopsie, the cow standing alone, mooed at us as we stepped into the barns doorway.setDickonabitofamission. Mostpeopleequategood They now have names, and watch the barn closely, waiting to bewhiskey with age. Im here to tell them it's just not true. Good, calledinforthetreatoftheday-theleftoverspotgrain.smooth whiskey comes off the still as good, smooth whiskey, he Poopsie, one of the cows, lets out a loud moo to let anyonetold us. Im doing what Jim Beam is doing - making bourbon. who's listening know that she's ready.Dick enjoys telling the story of an incident that occurred DickandMartiaresaltoftheearth. Whilethereisanduring one of their off-site tastings. A husband and wife walked inspiring sense of spiritual mystery about their farm, its reallyby the Palm Ridge Reserve table where Dick was pouring sam- no mystery at all why certain dogs and cats end up here. Its mostples. Appearing disinterested, almost with their noses in the air, likely the souls of those dogs and cats who have come beforeit turns out they were brand ambassadors for Makers Mark. The them, letting them know they are safe on this slice of Heaven inwife passed by the table again, this time stopping to take a sip. rural Florida. UWell, thats pretty good, she said to Dick, who noticed herhusband peering from the next isle. They ended up buying a Z Palm Ridge Reserve and Palm Ridge Rye just won Silverbottle. medals at the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA)Jim Murray, a connoisseur of whiskey, journalist and three 4th Annual Judging Competition in March out of moretime winner of the Glenfiddich Whiskey Writer of the Year than 450 spirits. Palm Ridge Distillery opens up to the public foraward, gave Palm Ridge Reserve a score of 94.5 in his 2015 tours and tastings twice a month between 11a and 3p. CheckWhiskeyBible,placingitinacategoryhecallsSuperstar their website and Facebook page for dates.Whiskies. The Reserve can be found in such prestigious bars PalmRidgeReserve.com - 352.455.7232andrestaurantsasNewYorksWaldorf-AstoriaHotelBar, *(With deference to Yogi Berra).ParkshoreGrillonBeachDriveand The Vinoy,bothinSt.www.TheNewBarker.com Spring 2016 THE NEW BARKER 47"