Alabama Distillery Co. sits on Lindsey Road in Cullman, about an hour north of Birmingham, where founders Jeff and Michelle Pennington turned their passion for craft spirits into Alabama’s newest distilling venture. The couple opened their doors in 2019 after years of planning and navigating Alabama’s complex distilling laws, transforming a former industrial space into a modern craft distillery that focuses on small-batch bourbon, rye, and moonshine. Jeff brings a background in engineering while Michelle handles the business side, and together they’ve built something that feels authentically Alabama without the tourist trap polish you’ll find elsewhere. The Penningtons started this journey after falling in love with craft distilling during trips to Kentucky and Tennessee, realizing Alabama had room for a serious craft operation that wasn’t just about novelty flavored spirits. They spent three years perfecting their recipes and dealing with state regulations before opening, working with a local cooper to source barrels and developing relationships with grain suppliers across the Southeast. Their master distiller brings experience from larger operations but embraces the creative freedom that comes with small-batch production, experimenting with different mash bills and aging techniques that wouldn’t fly at bigger distilleries. Visitors get an up-close look at a working distillery where you can actually watch spirits being made, not just hear about it. The tasting room showcases their core lineup alongside seasonal releases, and the tours take you through their entire process from grain to glass in a space that smells like sweet mash and aging oak. This isn’t the biggest distillery you’ll visit, but it’s one where you’ll actually learn something about how whiskey gets made and taste spirits that reflect the founders’ genuine commitment to quality over volume.