Smooth Ambler Spirits sits in the small town of Maxwelton, West Virginia, about 30 minutes from Lewisburg in the Greenbrier Valley. John Little and TAG Galyean founded the distillery in 2009, converting an old 5,000-square-foot cinder block building that once housed a lumber company into their production facility. Little, a former naval officer and banker, teamed up with Galyean, who brought business experience from the technology sector. They started with the goal of making traditional American whiskey using West Virginia corn and grains. The distillery produces bourbon, rye whiskey, and gin, with their flagship Old Scout bourbon gaining national recognition early on. What began as two guys with a dream to bring whiskey production back to West Virginia has grown into one of the state’s most recognized craft distilleries. The operation expanded over the years, adding fermentation tanks and barrel storage space, but kept the original industrial building as its heart. Little and Galyean built their reputation by sourcing aged whiskey while their own distilled spirits matured, a common practice among craft distilleries that they executed particularly well.