Copperline
The tasting room bar at last light

Since 2014

A still, a ridge, a plan.

Copperline started with one used pot still, a leased stone building outside Asheville, and a stubborn idea about doing things the slow way. We are still doing it the slow way.

01The people

Who runs the still.

A distiller making the cut at the copper pot still

Head distiller, co-founder

Dale Mercer

Dale spent a decade running a grain mill before he ever touched a still. He buys the grain, sets the mash bills, and makes the cuts on every batch. If a barrel goes out under our name, Dale tasted it first. He likes his rye neat and his answers short.

Copperline tasting room interior on Depot Street

Co-founder, operations

Renee Calloway

Renee handles everything that is not the still, which turns out to be most of it. She found the building, sorted the licensing, and built the tasting room from a concrete shell. She is the reason there are bottles on shelves and not just barrels in a warehouse. She drinks the gin.

Dale Mercer

We would rather sell out than rush a release.

02The road here

Eleven years, one ridge.

  1. 2014

    Founded

    Dale and Renee sign a lease on a stone building outside Asheville, install one used 250-gallon copper pot still, and fill their first barrels of bourbon.

  2. 2016

    First bourbon release

    Ridgeline Bourbon goes on sale after two winters in oak. The first run sells out of the tasting room in a weekend.

  3. 2019

    New rickhouse

    We build a dedicated rickhouse on the property, raising aging capacity from a few dozen barrels to several hundred and finally giving the spirit room to rest properly.

  4. 2022

    Double Gold

    Switchback Rye takes Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the first national recognition for a Copperline bottle.

  5. 2025

    Expanded tasting room

    We double the size of the tasting room on Depot Street, add a barrel-pick program, and start running tours on the hour, Thursday through Sunday.

03What we hold to

Four rules.

01

Estate grain

We use corn, rye, and barley grown close to home, milled fresh the day we mash. We know who grows it and how.

02

Hand cuts

A distiller cuts every batch by taste, pulling hearts only. No automation, no shortcuts, no exceptions.

03

Time

Barrels come out when the spirit is ready, not when a date arrives. We would rather sell out than rush a release.

04

Transparency

Mash bills, proof, age, and barrel numbers are on every label. If you want to know what is in the bottle, we will tell you.

In the press

What others have said.

Double Gold

San Francisco World Spirits

95 pts

Whisky Advocate

Best in Show

NC Craft Spirits

Top 10

Garden & Gun

06Frequently asked

About Copperline.

Who founded Copperline?
Dale Mercer and Renee Calloway founded Copperline in 2014. Dale is the head distiller, who sets the mash bills and makes the cuts. Renee runs operations and built the tasting room from a concrete shell.
When did Copperline start?
In 2014, with one used 250-gallon copper pot still in a leased stone building outside Asheville. The first Ridgeline Bourbon went on sale in 2016 after two winters in oak.
What makes Copperline grain-to-glass?
We start with grain we know by name, mill it fresh, ferment it on-site, distill it on our own copper pot still, and barrel and bottle everything in Asheville. Nothing is sourced from another distillery.
How big is Copperline?
Small and staying that way. We run one copper pot still and a single rickhouse, and we pull barrels when they taste ready rather than scaling up to hit a number.