New Distillery Approved

A West Virginia distillery has been awarded a loan to buy more equipment and increase production of its distilled moonshine whiskey and flavored moonshine. The Gazette-Mail reports the West Virginia Economic Development Authority approved the $415,000 loan this month for Ripley-based Appalachian Distillery. The company is leasing the building that houses its operations, and the loan will also help buy that building. The company was established in June 2014. The Economic Development Authority’s loan approval document says Appalachian Distillery intends to employ eight workers in two years.