COAL’D WATER’S PACKAGING LINE
Distilling equipment provided by Specific Engineering Solutions, including bulk tanks, bright tanks, mash cookers, and fermenters. Jordan Hamrick
Coal’d Water’s modern packaging line taps into OEM technology for distilling ambitions
Sarah Wynn • Senior Editor
From co-packing to producing authentic spirits, the birth of a brand takes a dedicated team of people, equipment, and technology.
Rooted in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, Coal’d Water Distilling Company features a natural spring to support the products on its new canning line. Just feet away from the production floor, barrels of future spirits age as the company builds its next chapter in distilling bourbon.
Coal’d Water currently operates as a co-packer, canning and sleeving beverages like sparkling water, cold brew coffee, and ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.
The line combines flexibility and efficiency with robotics from Fanuc and equipment from notable OEMs, including Cask Global Canning Solutions, Multi-Conveyor, DMM Packaging, nVenia, Domino North America, Hermis Company, Tripack, and Hamrick Packaging Systems.
Founder John Burleson, longtime president of English Mountain Spring Water, leads the operation, bringing decades of contract packaging experience to Coal’d Water.
Since its reality TV-inspired inception, the company has been backed by three former Kentucky basketball stars, and Phil and Jordan Hamrick, owners of Hamrick Packaging, Burleson’s long-time equipment supplier.
“The true difference is that John brings nearly 30 years of experience in contract packaging to the table. He’s a world-class operations manager, and he’s what makes this whole thing work,” said Jordan Hamrick.
Lights, camera… carbonation?
In early 2022, Burleson was approached
by a TV network to rent warehouse space to film the reality television shows Master Distillers and Moonshiners.
“In order for them to operate properly, we had to get a distilling license, which was something that I never really had thought about,” Burleson shared. “Once the TV show came in, we reached out and decided to apply for a distilling license and got that.”
The film crew arrived a few months later. That’s when Burleson realized the spring’s unique taste held untapped potential for crafting spirits and other beverages.
“My philosophy on the distilling side was, there are so many of these distilleries and alcohol brands that don’t make their own alcohol,” said Burleson. “They buy grain neutral spirits, bring it down to
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their facilities, blend it and market it as moonshine. Lots of sugar and multiple flavors. It’s not a true, traditional alcohol.”
This concept evolved into a business, and Burleson chose a name that honored his father, who spent 35 years in the mining industry, as well as others in that field.
“Not only was it a tribute to my dad, but it’s really a tribute to those hardworking men and women who work in the mining industry,” he said.
Crafting championship buzz
Coal’d Water’s next chapter launched with support from three national champions from Kentucky’s 1978 basketball roster.
Wildcat legends Jack Givens, Rick Robey, and Kyle Macy were brought to the English Mountain facility through a mutual contact. What initially started as a conversation about ready-to-drink beverages turned into something bigger.
“They wanted my opinion. That’s where I said, ‘Well, we could put in a canning line to do your products,’” said Burleson. “It opened the conversation for, ‘We would like to be part of whatever you’re doing.’”
For Burleson, the moment was humbling – and a bit surreal, as he now had the chance to work with the men he idolized growing up.
“They said, ‘You look like a 12-year-old kid again,’” he said, smiling. “You know, when these guys walked in, I said I’m reliving my childhood.”
Co-packing for the future
The business took shape with a mission to create authentic, traditionally produced spirits, while manufacturing all products on-site. Burleson focused on building a co-packing line to fund the distilling side.
“We could provide canning services and let that pay the bills, and as that takes off, it’ll allow us to develop our distilling side,” said Burleson.
He researched filling equipment to build the line from scratch.
“I leaned on people who were in the craft brewing industry,” said Burleson, who added that his research led him to Cask Canning out of Canada.
Cask assembled the front of the line, centering on its FleX2 automated canning machine, which runs 100 cans per minute and offers versatility with 11 different profiles and various can sizes.
“That was very attractive. Knowing that in co-packing, you’ve got to be nimble and be able to look at what the customers are doing,” said Burleson.
Cask also provided a Domino can coder, Pack Leader USA wrap-around labeling system, American Canning Pack Tech applicator, and tie-in conveyor.
Before production began, Cask retrofitted the machine with an accumulation system after the depalletizer. They also upgraded the rinse process from water to deionized air with UV light for better disinfection.
“We actually improved the process before we got started,” explained Burleson, regarding Cask’s changes.
Burleson purchased change parts to run a variety of can sizes, including 12 and 16-ounce standard, 12-ounce sleek, and 19.2-ounce cans.
Expanding the line for capacity
While the initial co-packing setup was expected to handle production, Burleson soon realized additional equipment was needed.
“It quickly became clear this wasn’t enough. There was no way we could run the kind of production that we were anticipating,” Burleson said.
That’s when he reached out to Jordan Hamrick for advice on how to expand the system. Hamrick connected him with Jeff Kaplan, a packaging engineer at Arrowhead Systems, who later joined Hamrick Packaging and became another investor in Coal’d Water.
For the co-packing line, Arrowhead handled the integration drawings and free-standing electrical panels, while Multi-Conveyor supplied the final conveyance equipment.
The team and associates gather in front of the facility’s distilling equipment.
Pictured from left to right: Patrick Donovan, Europool; Jordan Hamrick, Coal’d Water / Hamrick; John Burleson, Coal’d Water / English Mountain; Jack Givens, Coal’d Water and member of Kentucky’s 1978 national championship basketball team; Don Payne, Coal’d Water; Jeff Kaplan, Coal’d Water / Hamrick; and Luca Priero, Europool. Jordan Hamrick
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Next, the rest of the line was added, including a Tripack sleever integrated after the filler to support decorated and preprinted cans. DMM Packaging supplied the cartoner and tray packer, while ARPAC (now nVenia) provided the tray wrapper and heat tunnel.
The line also supports cold brew and includes a roasting station and nitrogen system, along with a Hermis pasteurizer to help protect heat-sensitive ingredients during canning.
Additionally, a FizzWizz automated carbonation system was also added with integrated digital monitoring.
“It works with Bluetooth, you can get everything on your phone,” said Burleson. “You know, tank temperatures, head pressures, carbonation levels. You can set it up and walk away.”
For the end-of-line packaging, a Lantech stretch wrapper was integrated, and Hamrick initially provided a Gen 1 Fanuc collaborative robot (cobot) repurposed from a trade show demo. However, it was ultimately replaced due to reliability issues related to leveling and pallet height sensitivity.
Hamrick then provided an industrial arm, now part of a Fanuc M20 robot, along with its end-of-line palletizing cell.
“We got [the industrial arm] installed and things are running so much better on the line,” said Hamrick.
From supplier to partner
After the line was fully installed and operational, Burleson reached out to Hamrick — but this time, it wasn’t about equipment, it was about a business opportunity.
“I tried to think about people I knew I could trust, people that are driven and like-minded. I know they were bourbon lovers. So, I thought, maybe this is something they’d like to get involved with,” said Burleson, reflecting on his conversation with the Hamrick family. “After some discussions, they said they would like to be part of it.”
Hamrick became an equity partner in the business, a move that was unique for him because he lives hundreds of miles away from the facility.
“John’s been a customer of ours since I was 10 years old, and he’s become very close with our family,” Hamrick explained. “It was difficult for me to sign up for something where I’m not on-site or actively involved in the
day-to-day, but my trust in John makes things easier.”
Hamrick also noted that the company’s size enables it to assist brands in product launches and help established brands scale.
“We’re financially prepared to keep investing as this is a company we truly believe can be successful long-term,” said Hamrick.
Beyond the can: Distilling equipment and Bourbon ambitions
While the packaging line is up and running, Coal’d Water’s ultimate ambition lies in spirit production. To support this, Burleson partnered with Specific Engineering Solutions to develop the infrastructure needed to launch a beverage program from the ground up.
Burleson’s requirements for the distilling equipment were reliability and versatility.
Specific Engineering Solutions supplied a 10,000-gallon bulk tank, bright tank, mash cookers, and fermenters. But the visual star of the show is a 500-gallon still featuring Coal’d Water’s logo, a focal point inside the Dandridge, Tennessee, facility,
which also features a formulation room to develop recipes and test spirits for proof and alcohol content.
Traditional bourbons require years of aging in the barrel. To speed up aging, the team at Coal’d Water has invested in a rotisserie-style aging system to accelerate the process without compromising flavor. It’s designed to replicate the effect of a three-year aging period in about 180 days.
From spring to spirit: Unpacking the potential of Coal’d Water’s next chapter
As a partner, Hamrick said the distillery’s flexibility opens the door to a range of products and collaborations.
“We have no shortage of opportunities at the moment, and you’ll be hearing about some exciting partnerships coming soon,” said Hamrick. “Then the focus will turn to possibly entering the market with unique single-barrel and small batch bourbons.”
Coal’d Water honors coal country and carries a Kentucky basketball legacy — all while building a modern packaging operation to support distilling dreams. What started with a reality film camera and a spring is now just the beginning. OEM
Coal’d Water’s Fanuc M20 industrial robot (left side of image) and end-of-line palletizing cell work alongside the facility’s canning line (right side of image). Jordan Hamrick