CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Sean Ruth was told that his plan to open his own distillery was a pipedream. Now, he’s making it happen despite the odds, in a downtown Clarksville location.
Ruth – who said he’s owner, head distiller and executive bourbon steward – made the leap from a 25-year career as an executive chef to opening his own business: Three Rifles Distilling Co.
Three Rifles will be an artisanal craft distillery in the Riverside district. Ruth said the idea was born in a love of superior spirits.
“It’s actually my wife’s fault,” Ruth said. “Six years ago, she took me to my first-ever distillery tour at Jack Daniels in Lynchburg, and at the end of the tour I looked at her and said, ‘I can do this.'”
Ruth, alongside co-owners Daniel Sharpe and Michael Lanham, came together to make the distillery happen.
The name refers to the three owners themselves. After playing with some designs, they decided that if there were three partners, they could be the three rifles.
“Everything about our business is different,” Ruth told Clarksville Now. “First of all, we only use local products. And second, we only use local resources as far as merch and things like that.”
Ruth said they primarily use veteran-owned business as much as possible to create their spirits. He also emphasized that everything they do is 100% handcrafted and locally sourced. Even the spirits are all hand-labeled, bottled and corked.
“From the actual spirits themselves to myself actually building the distillery, and everything down to the merchandise. My wife has actually made a bunch of the merchandise,” he said.
The owners pooled their resources to launch Three Rifles and teamed up with veteran-owned the Star Spangled Brewing Co. to obtain a small space within the brewery for their operation.
The grand opening and ribbon cutting is set for this Saturday, July 8, at 2 p.m. Vansauwa’s Tacos & Vegan Eats and Burgasm will be on site, and two bands will perform live.
Three Rifles Distilling Co. is located at 614 N. Spring St. behind Star Spangled Brewery, and they can be reached at 833-374-3537. For more information, check out their Facebook or click here for the Three Rifles Distilling Co. website.
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