The Whiskey Trip - Season 3, Episode 41 - Mike Fruge, Founder & Owner - J.T. Meleck Distillery

This week, Big Chief takes The Whiskey Trip deep into the beating heart of Branch, Louisiana, where faith, family, and providence have tilled the same soil for generations. Here he sits with Mike Fruge, the man behind J.T. Meleck Distillery, who turned a family rice farm into a living testament of Louisiana’s spirit and soul. The Meleck family came to Louisiana from Germany in 1896, settling among the French Creole communities and learning to make the best out of the land God gave them. Over the decades, their devotion became their destiny, rice fields that once fed families now fill glasses with a whiskey born of hard work, humility, and providence itself. The journey begins with their Small Batch Rice Whiskey at 96 proof, soft, warm, and familiar, like rice pudding kissed with cinnamon straight from Grandma’s kitchen. Then, the throttle opens with their High Proof Small Batch at 118 proof, where sassafras tea and clove spice rise up like the Cajun wind across the fields — rich, bold, and full of character. But the final pour? That’s where the road hits full stride. Big Chief and Mike close the ride with a Single Barrel Rice Whiskey, hand-selected by Spec’s, blazing in at 120.9 proof. It’s a powerhouse of flavor and finesse, a whiskey that will knock your socks clean off and stand toe-to-toe with any bourbon born north of the bayou. This episode is a testament to what happens when faith meets fire, when heritage meets heat and when a dream becomes destiny in every drop of Louisiana gold. So pour a glass, take a deep breath, and hang on tight, because this week’s Whiskey Trip is one you’ll feel in your chest and remember in your soul.