Both of us are at Chattanooga Whiskey’s Experimental Distillery on Market Street. The high-malt mash bill is the bet they made early, and the lineup proves it was the right one. Chattanooga Whiskey is the answer to what Tennessee whiskey can be outside the Lincoln County Process tradition.

What is Chattanooga Whiskey?

Chattanooga Whiskey restarted Tennessee whiskey distilling in Chattanooga after a roughly hundred-year absence — the city’s first distillery in nearly a century. Founded in 2011 by Tim Piersant (a Chattanooga native) with Joe Ledbetter, the brand drove the 2013 ‘Vote Whiskey’ state-law campaign that re-legalized whiskey distilling in Hamilton County.

The original Experimental Distillery at 1439 Market Street opened in 2015 — described as the only standalone Experimental Distillery in the United States. The high-malt mash bill is the brand’s signature, distinguishing the operation from the Lincoln County Process tradition that defines most Tennessee whiskey. The flagship lineup includes Chattanooga Whiskey 91, 99, Cask 111, the Founder’s Anniversary releases, and the Experimental Single Batch Series. Grant McCracken is Head Distiller.