Tobacco Barn Distillery in Hollywood, Maryland, crafts my favorite bourbon, a gem I’m delighted to donate to the FCEF Gala auction. I’m a sucker for a great story, and Tobacco Barn’s saga of reviving Maryland’s distilling glory—linked to bourbon legends like Basil Hayden, who practically invented the high-rye recipe in these parts—is tastier than their whiskey on a chilly night. This family-run, ground-to-glass operation grows its own corn and pulls rye from nearby fields, but the real magic? Water from a local aquifer so pure it could make a monk jealous, giving their bourbon whiskey a smooth, rich flavor that earned it America’s Best Farmer-Distiller title from the American Craft Spirits Association. The lucky bidder will sip history, quality, and maybe chuckle imagining Basil Hayden nodding approval from bourbon heaven.