Bob Karp
Rim Vilgalys of the Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Company in Durham.
Starting September 1, every distillery in North Carolina will have the option to serve cocktails—assuming, that is, that Governor Cooper signs Senate Bill 290, which the General Assembly passed last week. The bill loosens restrictions on the state’s distilleries, including giving them the ability to sell mixed drinks on-site and no longer limiting them to directly selling only five bottles of liquor a year per customer.
The day after the bill cleared the Senate, Durham Distillery announced plans for a cocktail bar. Lassiter Distilling Company in Knightdale has already started renovations to make room for its bar.
But not every distillery is getting in on the action. Esteban McMahan of TOPO Organic Spirits in Chapel Hill says that TOPO’s industrial space isn’t suited to a bar: “We don’t think that people would want to come hang out at a distillery for three or four hours. Our distillery is not set up right now to offer food, and our experience has been that if you don’t offer food, then people are gonna come for a drink or two and then take off.”
For smaller operations, there’s a manpower problem: “It’s just me, so I would probably have to hire somebody and get a larger space,” says Don McIntyre, who owns Seventy Eight ºC Spirits in Raleigh.
This week, we asked Triangle distillers how they planned to shift their business models once SB 290 became law.
Durham Distillery
711 Washington Street, Durham, durhamdistillery.com
Last week, Durham Distillery announced plans to open Corpse Reviver, a craft cocktail bar on the ground floor beneath its distillery, in early 2020. Corpse Reviver, named for both its basement setting and the classic gin cocktail, will be primarily art deco, featuring an outdoor patio, martini carts, and luxe finishes modeled after the modern gin bars of London.
The Brothers Vilgalys Spirit Company
803 Ramseur Street, Suite D, Durham, brothersvilgalys.com
A few years ago, Brothers Vilgalys took over the space adjacent to its industrial facility and turned it into a tasting room. With the passage of SB 290, the distillery intends to transform it yet again, converting the lounge into a cocktail bar. Co-owner Rim Vilgalys says he’s especially excited about the bar because it will allow him to test new products and determine their popularity.
“Breweries can make a good beer, throw it on draft right away, and get feedback,” Vilgalys says. “We haven’t been able to use our local places like a laboratory for new stuff.”
Graybeard Distillery
4625 Industry Lane, Durham, bedlamvodka.com
Graybeard Distillery is building a cocktail bar attached to its current facility, set to open in the next six months. Co-owner Sam Searcy says the bar will feature North Carolina spirits and be modeled after a 1920s-era speakeasy.
Raleigh Rum Company
1100 Corporation Parkway, #132, Raleigh, raleighrumcompany.com
Owner Chris Mendler describes the space at Raleigh Rum as a “glorified, oversized garage.” Even so, he’s planning to expand the distillery’s small walk-up bar and potentially put in a full-sized bar in a separate facility.
Lassiter Distilling Company
317 North First Avenue, Knightdale, lassiterdistilling.com
Gentry Lassiter began renovations before SB 290 passed. His bet paid off: The distillery is primed and ready to start serving cocktails in the upgraded space as soon as the law takes effect. Lassiter also says he plans to offer cocktail classes.
“Most people don’t drink a shot of straight rum, or they haven’t in the past ten years since they graduated from college,” Lassiter says. “Now, people can taste what can be done with our products instead of imagining what kind of potential that product can have.”
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