Jul 9, 2026
In this episode of Happy Hour Hustle, Maddie sits down with Brandon McCraney, Air Force veteran and founder and Master Blender behind Olde Raleigh Distillery in Zebulon, North Carolina. Brandon spent fifteen years just thinking about whiskey before he finally opened his doors, and even then it took four more years, a dozen rejections, construction delays, and a global pandemic to get there. Two years later, Olde Raleigh had already won Best Micro Distillery in the US. Brandon shares what it actually took to grow a business through COVID, the military discipline that kept him going when everything else said quit, and how working with people turned out to be the hardest part of the job.
Connect with Brandon:
Website: https://olderaleighdistillery.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmccraney/
Instagram: @brandonmccraney and @olderaleighdistillery