Exclusive Interview with Mark McLaughlin and Arch Watkins, owners of Old Line Spirits

Exclusive Interview with Mark McLaughlin and Arch Watkins, owners of Old Line Spirits

Q: What are your full names, title, company name and company location?

Mark McLaughlin, Co-Founder/CEO

Arch Watkins, Co-Founder/COO

Old Line Spirits

Baltimore, MD

Q: What is the story/inspiration behind your company name?

Maryland is the Old Line State, which comes from its truly heroic contributions in the Revolutionary War. After the Battle of Long Island, the Continental Army was in retreat and pursued by British forces.

Washington, knowing that survival was critical, sent the Maryland militia to hold the professional British soldiers off long enough to allow the Army to escape. In the end, the Maryland unit took catastrophic losses, but the Army lived to fight another day. General Washington referred to this heroic unit as his “Maryland line”, men who “held the line”- and eventually the state adopted the ‘Old Line State’ moniker.

Based on their courage and unparalleled fighting spirit, Washington used his always disciplined, always dependable Maryland men in critical positions throughout the War.

The name is meaningful to us both because we are proud of our state of Maryland and because we served in a modern version of the militia: as Navy reservists. 

Q: Both of you were naval officers and now you are in the spirits industry. How did this come about?

Mark: I spent about nine years on active duty in the Navy before moving on to a civilian career in investment banking. While banking offered me a number of incredible opportunities and I learned a lot I always had an itch to run my own business and actually manufacture something tangible. As everyone reading this is well aware, the spirits market is undergoing rapid transformation and it was (and still is) an exciting time to enter the market. It was essentially a confluence of the right timing in my life and career and the right timing in the spirits market. When you add in a love of spirits it made all the sense in the world to me to jump in.

Arch: Like Mark, I spent time in flying in the Navy then eventually transitioned to the private sector. After getting out of the active side of the Navy, I got a job as an engineer and kept one foot in the reserve side. Though I loved my job as an engineer, I always felt the draw towards running my own show- which I know was seeded in the military. Mark and I were neighbors in Baltimore and spent too many nights drinking whiskey and talking about ‘what we would do if only…’ At the time, Baltimore didn’t have any distilleries, and though we knew how to homebrew, Mark said “Let’s start a whiskey distillery”. Several months later he quit his banking job and started to lay the groundwork and I joined after that.

Q: You launched your first rum several months ago. What can you tell us about it?

We’ve developed our rum blend to be versatile. We tend to enjoy it neat, on the rocks or in a cocktail we understand that it also makes a great rum and Coke on game day and we’re completely happy if someone chooses to drink it that way. As far as style goes, it is a traditional Dominican Republic style rum produced from a molasses mash and aged in former bourbon barrels for at least seven years. We’re embracing the sweetness of rum and the rich vanilla and butterscotch notes from the oak but we were careful to let the character of the distillate shine through as well. There are very nice, but subtle, citrus notes that really complement the richer oak notes. 

We’ve found our rum to be versatile and it works very well with citrus forward cocktails as well as a fun alternative to whiskey in traditional cocktails, such as an old fashioned (forego the simple syrup in this one!) or a Manhattan.

Q: What was the hardest obstacle you had to overcome, in the development of this rum?

The development of the blend was a long process and certainly a dedication of time and effort but we had incredible guidance and support from Rum Runner Press. The hardest obstacle that we face is the general public’s perception of rum. In general, rum that is sold in North America is meant to immediately have a sugary soft drink poured on it. I can’t count the number of times at tasting events where people will refuse a taste because they claim to not like rum based on a ‘bad experience’.

We’re often able to convince them to at least give our Aged Caribbean Rum a try- and it is amazing to see the reaction! What we want people to realize is that Old Line’s rum is every bit as rich and complex as a great whiskey and that there is a whole world of wonderful, aged rums out there that many Americans (us included up until a few years ago) didn’t know existed.

Q: Your rum won a silver medal at the American Distilling Institute’s annual tasting competition this year, congratulations! How important are these awards for new brands such as yours?

We are very proud of the awards that Old Line’s rum has won. As you can imagine, it is nice to get official validation of the quality of our product from organizations that we respect so much. These types of awards are helpful because it gives a potential customer one more reason to reach for the bottle and try it.

There is also a tremendous benefit in that we get access to the feedback from the judges when we submit an award. This is very valuable to us. We don’t “chase the feedback”, per se, but we certainly take it on board as we consider manage quality control and consider new product offerings. 

Q: Where can consumers purchase your rum?

Old Line’s rum is available in nearly 300 accounts, primarily in our home state of Maryland but also in Washington, DC and (soon) Delaware. For those who want to purchase our products online they are available via a link on our website..

Q: Do you have any plans to have additional rums in the near future? 

Yes, we have some plans in the works. The most immediate will be a Single Malt Cask Finished rum, which will be our existing seven year old blend finished in our own freshly emptied single malt casks. We’re excited to see how this comes along.

We have other concepts in mind as well but most of them are still at the idea stage at this point.

Q: You are also producing whiskey, can you tell us a little more about it?

Our flagship product is an American single malt whiskey. We had the incredible opportunity to get started in this business via an apprenticeship with a man named Bob Stilnovich, owner and distiller at Golden Distillery in Washington State. Bob was making top notch American single malt whiskey but interested in retiring just as we were getting started. Bob was doing something very interesting: aging single malt whiskey in new charred oak barrels exactly as you’d age a bourbon. In contrast, a traditional single malt Scotch is aged in used barrels.

The result is a spirit that drinks much like a bourbon because of the oak forward vanilla and caramel notes and pleasant level of tannins but the corn sweetness of bourbon is replaced with a malty richness that gives the whiskey a very nice finish. We’re really excited to be one of the distilleries at the leading edge of the American single malt market. 

Q: Do you offer any tours/tastings at your distillery? If so, what kind of experience can visitors expect?

Yes, we love to welcome visitors. The distillery is open every Friday and Saturday from 12-6pm. We also schedule private tours upon request, typically for larger groups of 10 or more people. A typical tour covers the history of the company and the founders, the distillation and maturation processes as well as how we get product into the bottle.

Each tour ends, of course, with a tasting in our tasting room. We try to keep the tours intimate and we encourage questions and comments.

Q: If people want to contact you, how may they reach you?

We can be reached via e-mail at info@oldlinespirits.com or by telephone at (443) 961-3199. Even better, stop by during our open hours on Friday or Saturday!

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I am delighted to share this interview with our readers: I find it comforting, even poetic, to think that two enterprising and bright men can spend years in the Navy (years spent without a daily rum ration!) and end up owning a distillery that pays tribute to the sacrifices made by so many people during the Revolutionary War. I wish much success to Mark, Arch and everyone at Old Line Spirits!

Margaret Ayala, Publisher