By Brian Ireland
Delta Farm Press
Turning rice into whiskey and vodka is a new market in the Midsouth, but an innovative farming operation is paving the way for a more diversified cropping system in Louisiana.
Brothers Mike and Mark Fruge, with J.T. Meleck Distillery and Fruge Aquafarms in Branch, La., work together to raise and sell crawfish, grow rice, and turn that crop into either rice vodka or rice whiskey.