The teens were all about the craft beer boom. The 20s are shaping up to be dominated by a more spiritual trend. Craft distilleries are popping up with increasing frequency all over North America. These spots are using age-old methods, cutting-edge tech and plenty of creativity to reinvent gin, whiskey, vodka and more. Check out seven craft distilleries you don’t want to miss this year.
SOUTH WALTON, FL: Distillery 98
The newly opened Distillery 98 is one of the few craft distilleries in Florida that makes all spirits “grain-to-glass,” using 100 percent non-GMO Florida panhandle corn for its vodka. The vodka is filtered through their one-of-a-kind oyster shell filter, which gives the vodka an extra filtration that is not only unique to the distillery; it also highlights Florida oysters, which are renowned as the very best in the entire U.S. During a tour, visitors can sample the distillery’s offerings while learning about efforts to create premium craft spirits without sacrificing an ounce of eco-friendliness.
BAYFIELD, WI: Copper Crow Distillery
For the last 200 years, Native Americans have been prohibited from owning and operating distilleries on tribal lands. In 2020, the ban was finally lifted, allowing tribes across the country to join the booming craft spirits industry. The first is Wisconsin’s Copper Crow Distillery, owned by Linda and Curt Basina. Using fresh, regional ingredients, Copper Crow creates small, distinctive batches inspired by the spirit and purity of nearby Lake Superior.
EDGEFIELD, SC: Carolina Moon Distillery
Carolina Moon Distillery is reclaiming the culture of small-scale distilling as a craft, returning to quality corn and fresh, local ingredients. Whereas major distillers use the entire run, Carolina Moon only uses the "heart" of each batch to yield the best spirits possible. One of their most popular spirits, Lady Belle, features smooth rum, which is peach infused during the distillation process before aging in charred peach wood. It gets its name from the variety of peaches originally used to craft it.
MYRTLE BEACH, SC: Twelve 33 Distillery
The Myrtle Beach area of Little River just opened its first craft distillery — Twelve 33 Distillery. The name is a reference to December 1933, when alcohol prohibition ended in the United States. The spirits are produced in-house, by hand, using mostly local ingredients produced in the Carolinas. The selection produced includes a silver rum, spiced rum, vodka, a spicy vodka, gin, bourbon and rum. Twelve 33 also features a VIP hidden speakeasy designed to look like you stepped back into 1933.
HOUSTON, TX: Avonak Distillery
Avonak Distillery in Houston is notable because it's owned by a diverse group of Houstonians (including a seventh generation Houstonian). Combined, they speak 11 languages, so it is a great example of Houston's diversity, where one in every four Houstonians is an immigrant. Avonak Distillery uses time-tested techniques and rich local ingredients to distill cultivated liquors that taste like home.
MOOREFIELD, NE: Lazy RW Distillery
What started out as a fascination with old journals by a Great Uncle, who operated a still on the Niobrara River in prohibition days, has now become a fully licensed whiskey distillery located in Moorefield, Nebraska. Lazy RW Distillery is proud of the slow process they use to make whiskey with Nebraska corn, Nebraska vendors. The distillery offers three featured products (Straight Corn Whiskey, Cinnamon Flavor Whiskey, and Lemon-Flavored Whiskey).
TORONTO, ON: Ontario Spring Water Sake Company
Located in downtown Toronto’s Distillery Historic District, The Ontario Spring Water Sake Company is eastern North America’s first sake brewery. Using traditional Japanese methods and recipes with delicious Ontario spring water, Torontonians and visitors alike can now enjoy fresh, unpasteurized, locally brewed sake for the first time. The sake’s fresh and delightful flavor is enhanced by using a special spring water chosen among the abundant water resources of northern Ontario. Tours are available on weekends.
