GOLDSBORO, N.C. — A rancher in North Carolina had a nightmare experience in a car wash recently, when wire fencing sitting in the bed of his pickup truck got entangled in the rotating brushes.

Kyle Corbett shared video of the aftermath on TikTok, writing, “Lesson today is don’t go in the car wash with high tensile wire in the bed of your truck.”

“I needed to put up more fence for my cattle, so I purchased this reel of high tensile wire the night before, and the next day I went up town to take care of some business at the bank,” Corbett said. “I decided to run through the car wash ‘real quick’ and didn’t think about that wire.”

“I never use that truck for any work. I went to the car wash and the guys checked my truck out for safety. I went through and that’s when all hell broke loose,” he said.

“It wrapped up half of the fence in just a matter of seconds and beat the hell out of that car behind me. It sounded like a war zone,” he added.

“This is not good…yeah that’s terrible,” he says in the footage as he’s filming the mess.

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — Bourbon is more than a business for Jesse Carpenter — it’s a tribute to the city that shaped him.

“This is Durham. This is where I’m from. This is where I grew up,” said Carpenter, Chief Product Officer of Old Hillside Bourbon.

The company he co-founded with childhood friends takes its name and identity from one of Durham’s most iconic institutions-Hillside High School, one of the oldest historically Black high schools in the nation.

“We graduated Class of 1993 from Hillside High School,” Carpenter said. “Concord and Lawson Street. It’s the old Hillside.”

The idea took root during the pandemic when Carpenter proposed starting a bourbon company to those same friends.

“I had an idea to start a bourbon company, and they were on board,” he said. “Friends from 30 years ago, and now we’re doing this business together. It’s awesome.”

From 300 Cases to 10,000

What began as a pandemic-era idea has evolved into a rapidly growing business.

In its inaugural year, Old Hillside distributed 300 cases; this year, the company anticipates 10,000. The bourbon also earned Best in Show at the 2023 TAG Global Spirits Awards, impressing even the most discerning craft bourbon critics.

“Let me focus on the aroma — layers of oak, vanilla,” one reviewer commented on the Bourbon Banter YouTube channel, concluding with, “I think it’s a great taste.”

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A Bottle Full of Stories

Beyond its flavor, Old Hillside stands out for the history embedded in its label. Each vintage pays homage to a chapter of Black American history that might otherwise remain overlooked.

The inaugural bottle features a photo of the old Hillside High building, symbolizing the school’s deep community ties. A second flavor pays tribute to the African American jockeys who dominated the Kentucky Derby before the Jim Crow era effectively pushed them out of the sport. The company’s latest release honors the Harlem Hellfighters, the renowned all-Black military unit that served with distinction in World War I.

It’s a storytelling approach that Carpenter and his team are actively working to spread across North Carolina. Brand ambassadors Corey Carpenter and Amire Schealey are on the front lines of that effort.

“More bars and restaurants — tackling different markets,” said Corey Carpenter. Schealey added that the team is “setting up tastings at different ABC boards to build up our brand and presence around the state of North Carolina.”

Like many acclaimed bourbons, Old Hillside is distilled and bottled in Kentucky. But its founders are quick to point out where its true spirit comes from.

“Old Hillside is a lifestyle,” Jesse Carpenter said. “Not just a school-friendship and camaraderie. That’s what we do.”

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