Two Trees Distilling

Two Trees Distilling doesn't age whiskey the way anyone else in North Carolina does. Instead of years in a rickhouse, the Fletcher, North Carolina producer runs a proprietary process it calls Sustainably Matured, using energy wave technology to accelerate the same physical and chemical changes that happen during traditional barrel aging, compressed from years into a fraction of the time, using 85 to 90 percent less wood along the way.

History & Heritage

Two Trees was set in motion in 2018 by Chad Slagle and Keith Mort, who built the company's rapid-maturation process from the ground up rather than following the traditional distilling path. The brand also carries a long-running relationship with Tim Smith, the moonshiner made famous on Discovery Channel's Moonshiners, whose Tim Smith Spirits lineup, including Climax Moonshine, Climax Wood Fired Whiskey, and Southern Reserve Bourbon, Rye, and Whiskey, has been produced under license since 2013.

The company's structure changed substantially in 2021, when three separate beverage businesses, Prost Beverage, RF Kettle, and Two Trees Distilling, merged to form Two Trees Beverage Company. That merger consolidated the rapid-aging technology and brand portfolio under one roof. Two years later, on December 12, 2023, Two Trees Beverage Company was acquired by MDWerks, Inc., and now operates, as of July 2026, as a wholly owned subsidiary of that publicly traded company. The founding brand name persists on the label and the Fletcher tasting room, but the ownership sits with MDWerks at the corporate level.

The Whiskey

Two Trees is a non-distiller producer: no alcohol is distilled on-site. What happens instead is a controlled maturation process built around wood, water, and alcohol, activating esterification through toasted and charred wood chosen for specific flavor outcomes. The result is a lineup that spans traditional and flavored styles. The signature Two Trees Wood Crafted Bourbon is a four-grain recipe of corn, rye, wheat, and barley, while Land of the Sky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is built from corn, wheat, and malted barley and took a Gold Medal at the 2025 New York World Spirits Competition. The Folklore Series pulls from Appalachian mythology across bourbon, rye, and single malt expressions, and Batch 314 marks the date, March 14, 2015, that the team behind the Climax Wood-Fired line judged their first successful batch. Flavored releases, including Two Trees Peanut Butter Whiskey and Two Trees Carolina Peach Whiskey, sit alongside ready-to-drink cocktails like the Two Trees Old Fashioned RTD and Two Trees Manhattan RTD.

Why It Matters

Two Trees Peanut Butter Whiskey was named Best Flavored Whiskey by The 50 Best Awards in 2022 and also picked up a Silver medal at the Bartender Spirits Awards. Two Trees Carolina Peach Whiskey won a Platinum Sip Award in 2022, and the Two Trees Old Fashioned RTD took Gold the same year. Two Trees Snarly Yow Bourbon earned Silver at the 2025 SIP Awards, and the tasting room itself has been voted Best Distillery in the Best of Asheville readers' poll three years running, 2023, 2024, and 2025. That combination, an unconventional production model paired with consistent competition results across both traditional and flavored categories, is what distinguishes Two Trees within the broader Appalachian spirits scene that has grown up around Asheville.

Visiting the Distillery

The Fletcher tasting room, at 17 Continuum Drive, pours complimentary whiskey tastings and sells bottles seven days a week. Hours run Monday through Thursday 10am to 7pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 8pm, and Sunday noon to 5pm, and the space is dog-friendly for those bringing four-legged company along.

The Sentinel Room's Reserve Whiskey Library carries 2 expressions from Two Trees Distilling, including Two Trees Peanut Butter Whiskey, for those who appreciate good whiskey and want to taste a genuinely different approach to how a bottle gets to that flavor.