A field report from Ed on our journey. We were right by Southern Distillery along I77 so we stopped on a Saturday evening. Luckily we were able to catch one of the production guys who offered us a tour and tasting. Really neat to learn about the process of taking the wheat etc from the field to get it to a bottle or barrel. This whiskey was outstanding! A must visit for any rye whiskey / bourbon lovers.
Statesville’s ideal climate, high quality local ingredients, ingenuity, and location at the crossroads of America’s rail system made it the epicenter of spirits production. That is until the booming spirits industry became a target for the Temperance Movement and Statesville was voted dry in 1903.
Before prohibition, Statesville was the liquor capital of the world. Southern Distillery doesn’t take that lightly. Their aim is to carry on that legacy and put North Carolina’s best kept secret on the map.
All these years later they are here to put North Carolina back on the map by blending innovation with 100+ years of tradition to create consistent high quality whiskey that North Carolina can be proud of.
Due to changes in NC laws, Southern Distillery just ran their first fully theirs whiskeys.
For every bottle of Southern Star Double Rye you buy, 50% of the profits goes to support Purple Heart Homes’mission to create housing solutions for disabled and aging veterans. To support the vets and because it was the best I tasted, we got more than one bottle – haha.
The tour was really cool and informative and the tasting was excellent – at least in Ed’s view. Out of the seven samples, “there wasn’t one I didn’t like” says Ed.
Southern Distillery goes the extra step to make a fine product. The ‘low wine’ is the first ‘end’ which is only a step short of Beam and Daniel’s final – tastes bad. The ‘high wine’ is the step beyond and makes their final product way better than others (Ed’s opinion).
This is only a fraction of the barrels they have aging.
Well stocked store.
