Alabama's first legal distillery since Prohibition has opened in a county famous for producing illegal whiskey.
High Ridge Sprits operates in a former horse barn in rural Bullock County. Its shiny metal tanks and spotless concrete floor look like any food processing facility. Employees' relaxed pace indicate there are no worries about a raid by state liquor agents.
Head distiller Jamie Ray says it's a little different from the way it's been done in the woods of Bullock County for decades. A creek behind High Ridge Distillery even has the remnants of a still that got raided years ago.
Ray delivered the first 37 cases of his Stills Crossroads Alabama 'Shine to the state liquor agency Oct. 24.
The American Distilling Institute says High Ridge is one of 602 craft distillers across the country, and the number is growing.
