Across Spartanburg County, entrepreneurs and connoisseurs alike have taken distilling into their own hands. Some have been inspired by family recipes and the historical significance distilleries have had in the area, while others have sought to create drinks they can enjoy with family and friends.
Visitors can experience traditional and modern distilling, not to mention some great drinks, across Spartanburg County, from Landrum, considered to be part of the Dark Corner, to the small, historic downtown area of Reidville.
Sugar Tit Moonshine Distillery in Reidville
Sugar Tit Moonshine was inspired by the real, homemade thing.
The owners of Sugar Tit decided to start their own distilling operation after a friend brought out a jar of handmade spirits at dinner. The beverage was from a family recipe dating back to the Sugar Tit area (an unincorporated part of Reidville) and the business is amusingly named after it. The distillery still follows that old family recipe, brewing up its concoctions in small batches.
Sugar Tit offers many fruit-flavored varieties of moonshine, including flavors like Apple Pie, Peach and Pineapple, along with whiskey-inspired moonshines.
“This month we've introduced our first accelerated aged American Whiskey. We call it Doc Leonard 1857, named after the Reidville doctor and professor who ran our store with his wife back when the first SC colleges were running,” said Kat Jordan, owner of Sugar Tit Moonshine. “We chose an apothecary bottle and it will be the flagship bottle to that future line. Old bottles are very cool and fit well with our laid back, historical feel. We are all about sharing our history here in Reidville and that of our special building.”
Sugar Tit is open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday on Main Street in Reidville.
Rock Bottom Distillers in Spartanburg
Rock Bottom Distillers was opened in 2012 by two brothers aiming to make authentic Appalachian moonshine. Mountain spring water, trucked to Spartanburg from Bald Mountain, North Carolina, is married with cracked corn and flaked barley with sugar and molasses added along with way.
Rock Bottom’s commitment to Appalachian moonshine is strong, as every offering is bottled inside traditional Mason jars including their signature Heirloom Moonshine. The distillery’s moonshine can be found in stores across Greenville and Spartanburg and Rock Bottom has recently added distribution in Charleston and Columbia.
Rock Bottom, at 201 Sha Lane in Spartanburg, offers free tours and tastings daily. They’re open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday.