We make small batches of craft distilled whiskey in America’s first prison distillery. The mission of Southern Grace Distilleries is to create American distilled spirits meant to recapture the excellence of days gone by, when Made in the USA meant Best in the World. We want to combine that with the soul and taste of the best of the South to craft distill very small batches of whiskey. We hand label and number every batch and every bottle and nothing will leave our shop until it is a spirit we’d be proud to serve on our own back porch to our family and closest friends. We spoke to Leanne Powell, the Co-Founder and CEO of the distillery.
What was your vision for Southern Grace Distillery?
LP: We wanted to make a quality product that we would be proud to serve in our own homes.
What have been the main challenges involved in setting up a new distillery?
LP: The regulatory challenges and building a network of distribution have been the toughest.
What led you to start your own business?
LP: I had been in political life for nearly 30 years and I wanted to actually make something and help create jobs.
And what has been the part you’ve enjoyed most?
LP: I love watching people enjoy our products. It is incredibly satisfying to make people happy.
What exactly does your job entail?
LP: I am the CEO. I directly oversee all aspects of our business from production to sales, from ordering grain to managing tours of our distillery.
Tell us about what whiskey you currently produce and how its different from all the other whiskey in the market.
LP: Our two products currently on the market, Sun Dog 130 and Sun Dog Pink Lemonade stand out. Sun Dog 130 is the highest proof whiskey made in NC on the shelves and it has won 2 gold medals. It is big, but has a sweet finish.
Sun Dog Pink Lemonade is our Sun Dog 130 combined with real fruit juice. Customers remark on how fresh it tastes and smells.
We make a contribution of every bottle we sell of Pink Lemonade to Breast Cancer Research and for every bottle we sell of 130 we make a contribution to an animal shelter. I believe our quality and our commitment to philanthropy set us apart.
Is there a flavor profile that you aim to achieve when malting, mashing, fermenting, distilling and maturing?
LP: We want the sweetness of the corn to come through.
What are the most important factors affecting whisky distillation?
LP: I think the most important thing you can do is make your cuts with the customer in mind, more than profits. We aim to make our cuts so that the customer only gets the best part of the run. The rest can be recycled and run again until it is of the quality our customers deserve.
How do you ensure that these are carefully balanced to produce a consistently high quality product?
LP: I quality test at every point. I have a distiller who shares my commitment to quality and I personally oversee the bottling and hand write the batch and bottle number on each bottle as I examine it to make sure it can leave our distillery.
Do you think that your product is distinctive? If so, what makes it distinctive from other whiskies on the market?
LP: Yes, first of all it is wholly made by us on site. Second, it reflects our quality standards. It looks and tastes as if care went into it. That is important.
What is in the pipeline for 2017 that we should look out for?
LP: We will be releasing a flavored whiskey for fall and we’ll have our first bourbon harvest before Christmas.
Leanne, tell us about your warehousing location. Online it says you moved into an old Prison, can you give us more information about that. Were you expanding? etc.
LP: Yes, we are the first distillery in the US to be located in a former prison. We moved from 2200 total square feet for manufacturing, storage and warehousing to the prison where we now have nearly 15,000 sq ft for manufacturing, a 5,000 sq ft barrel house and 1200 sq ft visitors center. We needed room to make our bourbon and flavored whiskeys.
Where do you see your distillery 5 years from now?
LP: Making premium bourbon that is distributed near and far….
Describe your whiskey in 3 words.
LP: Big, smooth and sweet
Do you remember your first dram? Is there a story behind it?
LP: I certainly do. It was Jack Daniels “borrowed” from a friend’s daddy’s liquor cabinet…I probably shouldn’t admit I was in high school when fell in love with whiskey.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
LP: Don’t be afraid of white whiskey. In fact, if you love bourbon and other aged whiskeys, seek it out. You’ll find that where you find quality going into the barrel, you’ll find quality coming out of the barrel. Drink white whiskey for research and you just may fall in love with it….
For more information on the distillery, please visit the links below:
website: SouthernGraceDistillery
facebook: @SouthernGraceFacebook
