CHARLOTTE, NC (Lukas Johnson/The Charlotte Observer) – Concord-based Southern Grace Distilleries offered free samples of its 130-proof moonshine during the Jan. 30 art walk.
More than 250 people visited the company’s downtown tasting room on Cabarrus Avenue to sample multiple products, including food, made using the moonshine.
Fans of moonshine can look for the company’s Sun Dog 130 to hit local ABC stores in a few weeks. Its Party Jug blended fruit and whiskey is due out in a few months and its aged whiskey will be out within the year.
The founders include Concord’s Leanne Powell, president; Perry Morris, distiller; and Thomas Thacker, operations manager. The three met while working for former Eighth District U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, D-N.C., and eventually learned they shared a passion for good whiskey.
“It was an amazing show of support,” Powell said. “We had more than 200 RSVPs and had nearly 260 folks come through the door. What stood out was how surprised folks were that they could drink something 130 proof and have it not be harsh.
“Most people were interested in how the 130 could be used in a cocktail and what it would mix well with,” Powell continued. “A lot of people, who are not generally high-proof or even distilled drinkers actually took to the 130 and were surprised that it doesn’t burn the way many up-proofed spirits can.”
Southern Grace Distilleries became Cabarrus County’s first legal moonshine distillery in October 2014, when Concord Mayor Scott Padgett turned on the still in the former Warren C. Coleman Mill.
The company searched the Southern Piedmont region for a former mill building. The 2,800-square-foot space in the former Warren C. Coleman Mill eventually beat out spots in Anson, Mecklenburg and Stanly counties.
Southern Grace Distilleries will hand-bottle and hand-number three products: a 130-proof white whiskey/moonshine called Sun Dog 130; Party Jug: a less potent, fruit-infused product; and an oak-barrel-aged, 90-proof white whiskey. The formula is an adapted version of distiller Morris’ grandfather’s family recipe from Texas.
The company eventually will distribute in Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina and Washington, D.C.
The company site also on Cabarrus Avenue also houses offices and a future tasting room. The tasting room, which is expected to open in a few months, has to be licensed by the state.
Once open, guests can watch a video that explains the moonshine-making process and look at artifacts tied to the local moonshine history.
“We are a craft distillery,” Powell said. “We take great pride in making sure every bottle is something we’d be proud to serve in our own homes. We also believe we can do good as a corporation and that is why we contribute money to local charities for every bottle we sell.”
Donna Hunt Carpenter, president and CEO of the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said there are less than 20 distilleries in North Carolina and they draw thousands of visitors each year.
“Southern Grace Distilleries adds an all new genre to our already diverse tourism assets in Cabarrus County,” she said. “Food and drink are so often at the heart of what gives a destination character, and Sun Dog 130 will help visitors experience our story in a new way.”
Concord resident Dick Winfield, who visited the tasting event with his wife, said the taste brought him back to his college days.
“It’s very good stuff and I’m glad to see it’s going to be on the market, especially that it’s going to be local,” he said.
Diane Young, the executive director of the Concord Downtown Development Corporation, said distilleries are the next big thing.
“And to have Cabarrus County’s first in downtown Concord is huge,” she said. “It shows a desire by entrepreneurs to locate cutting-edge businesses in downtown Concord.”
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