‘I Think We Nailed it On This One’: Whiskey Brand Founded by 2 Ex-Navy Pilots Drops Sherry-Finished American Single Malt

Old Line Spirits, a Maryland brand founded by two former Navy pilots, released an American Single Malt finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. (Photo: Old Line Spirits)

On Tuesday, the Baltimore-based brand Old Line Spirits announced the new release of a Pedro Ximénez-finished sherry cask American Single Malt whiskey. The whiskey clocks in at 100 proof and was available as of Saturday at the distillery, online and at specialized U.S. retailers for a suggested price of $65.

“The world of sherry is broad and varies,” co-founder Mark McLaughlin said in a statement. “This Old Line release explores the sweetest of the seven sherries: Pedro Ximenez. As with all of Old Line’s finishes, this one is a result of a deliberate and delicate balance of putting our ASM into a freshly emptied barrel finishing barrel when the whiskey is at the proper level of maturity where, so it could stand on its own but is also able to embrace the character imparted by the finishing barrel. And then, of course, we have to remove it from the finishing barrel at the right time! I think we nailed it on this one.”

Old Line Double Oak American Single Malt Sherry Cask Finish marks the ninth release in the Double Oak American Single Malt Whiskey portfolio.

About Old Line Spirits

Old Line Spirits was founded by Mark McLaughlin and Arch Watkins, who met while flying their EA-6B Prowlers in the Navy. When they retired after flying off aircraft carriers for more than a decade, they wanted a taste of adventure and created Old Line Spirits to craft American Single Malts.

Old Line cites that in early 2015, Mark made the leap and quit his job to travel to a distilling conference in Seattle. He ran into the owner of Golden Distillery, one of America’s first American Single Malt Distilleries. The owner was looking to sell the property at the time., and McLaughlin and Watkins decided to move onto the property. The two learned how to distill American Single Malts under the stewardship of Golden Distilling’s owner, Bob Stilnovich.

McLaughlin and Watkins eventually partnered with Middle West Spirits, a Columbus, Ohio distillery.

Old Line claims it focuses on using some of the highest quality ingredients in its Baltimore-based distillery.

Join the Whiskey Raiders Bottle of the Month Club, where you will receive hard-to-find bottles curated by Whiskey Raiders staff with a 90+ rating on whiskeyraiders.com plus live virtual tastings. Sign up here!