Old Line Distillery founders and veteran Navy pilots Mark McLaughlin and Arch Watkins continue to support charitable military causes.
Their latest fundraiser donates a portion of their American Single Malt sales to K9s For Warriors, a leading organization that provides service dogs for veterans with PTSD. The whiskey in question is the Old Line Single Malt, the distillery’s flagship whiskey, and its high-proof stablemate, Navy Strength American Single Malt.
“Our time in the Navy shaped who we are — not to mention being how we initially met. So there would be no Old Line Spirits without the military.”
— Mark McLaughlin, Old Line Distillery co-founder
This campaign donates $5 per bottle sold to the organization and will run through the end of 2023. Bottles will be available in retail outlets in Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., or check the website below to purchase a bottle. While you are there, read these guys’ stories. McLaughlin and Watkins were Navy pilots who quit their day jobs to acquire a craft distillery on Samish Island in Maryland’s northern Puget Sound. Since then, they opened another location in Baltimore while partnering with Middle West Distillery for production. Old Line features a full lineup of core and special edition American Single Malts, as well as rum and vodka.
This latest fundraising effort is the second show of support by Old Line Spirits for K9s For Warriors this year. The first was the Ohana 2023 Project, a limited single malt release whose sales raised $15,000 to sponsor a team participating in the World’s Toughest Row Pacific Challenge to raise money for the charity. Other veteran-related organizations Old Line supports include the Tailhook Educational Foundation, Baltimore Station, and the Warrior Music Foundation. Here’s a quick look at the whiskeys.
“It is important to us to support veterans and military families, and being entrepreneurs gives us an opportunity to leverage our work to raise awareness and funds for great causes.”
“It is important to us to support veterans and military families, and being entrepreneurs gives us an opportunity to leverage our work to raise awareness and funds for great causes.”
— Mark McLaughlin, Old Line Distillery co-founder
What’s In The Bottle?
Old Line American Single Malt
95 proof (47.5% ABV); $45
This flagship whiskey is column and pot-distilled malted barley aged four to six years in heavily charred virgin American oak barrels, proofed at 47.5 % ABV.
How Does It Taste?
Company tasting notes: Experience a harmonious balance of vanilla, cocoa, and cereal notes—exquisite neat or over ice; you’ll also love it as the cornerstone of a crafted cocktail.
What’s In The Bottle?
Old Line Navy Strength American Single Malt
114 Proof (57% ABV), $55
Here we have Old Line’s classic American single malt, pot, and column distilled and aged four-to-six years in new American oak bottled “naval strength” at 114 proof.
How Does It Taste?
Company tasting notes: Delivers a boldness and complexity along with an approachability that is rare for a whiskey at such high proof. Savor the bold interplay of cocoa, brown sugar, and cereal notes.
John McCarthy is a spirit, travel, and lifestyle journalist, managing editor, and author of The Modern Gentleman and Whiskey Rebels: The Dreamers, Visionaries & Badasses Who Are Revolutionizing American Whiskey. McCarthy is also editor of Barleycorn Drinks and Director of Judging of the John Barleycorn Awards.
