Whiskies & Southern Belles

Chapter 1

"Addddddddy," Clem yelled out through the window in her sing-song voice. "Where do you keep the jug for the sweet tea again?"

"Clementine," Adeline said through gritted teeth. "Maybe after I've finished telling the gardeners where to position the flowers, unloaded all the chairs, finalized the menu with the caterers, exchanged the off-white tablecloths for the crisp white and picked up Aunt Colleen for the airport, I can dig it out for you and make you a batch."

"Thank you," Clem said sweetly, turning her mother's jewelry box rifling for the pearl earrings and necklace their great great grandmother had handed down years ago.

It was the middle of July and the Walker compound was overrun with all things wedding. Twenty-six-year-old Clem was set to be married the following day to her dear Henry, a proper Southern gentleman who plied her with love and attention. The two met during college orientation at the University of Georgia and have been inseparable ever since. As Clem studied fashion merchandising, Henry toiled away in his politics courses and was now on the fast track to a seat in the senate within five years. All was good with the couple and their life was only about to get sweeter with their upcoming wedding.

As Clem and Henry basked in the excitement of their upcoming nuptials, Adeline shoulders drooped. Walker Vintage was a respected company in Savannah and had enjoyed many years of healthy business. In spite of her father's gruff management style and questionable decision-making in the last years of his life, Walker Vintage always managed to turn a good profit, providing a good life for Adeline and her family and then some. However, in the past year since her father's death, a new whiskey purveyor had come onto the scene and was quickly usurping the makret share Walker Vintage used to reign uncontested. Coined Miller Whiskey, the new company came with slick branding, positive reviews from whiskey enthusiasts and a charismatic founder and CEO at its helm.

Carter Miller was 36 and on fire. With a successful artisan chocolaterie under his belt based in his native Williamsburg, Miller was pursuing his second passion - beautifully distilled whiskey. The love and hard work Miller poured into his business was paying off. In a short 10 months, Miller Whiskey had built fans from around the country and was now about to be made available nationally. The only thorn on Carter's side was the beautfiul, but cold Adeline. Fiercely trying to defend her family's distillery, Adeline had launched a number of subtle attacks his way. When he first bought an old theatre to build his new distillery in, Adeline started a petition to deem the site historic. While her efforts only served to slow down his renovations, Carter didn't like the feeling he was taking someone else's livelihood away. In his view, there was room for more than one leading whiskey distillery in Savannah. The drink was experiening a renaissance across the country and in Europe, so there was more than enough demand to go around. Unfortuantely, Adeline didn't see it this way. For 140 years, hers was the only whiskey distillery in the area and she wanted to keep it that way.

To make matters worse, Carter and Adeline had to attempt to set aside their differences for the next few days. Adeline would be standing beside Clem as her maid-of-honour while Carter stands next to Henry as his best man.