Part of my job is to pick up on trends during my travels, and something I’ve noticed this year is the rising drinks scenes in the most unusual places. The South’s liquor laws are just starting to come around to the modern age, and the distilleries are taking full advantage. Here are the places on my mind as we enter the new year.
Arkansas
The first in Arkansas distillery post-Prohibition only opened in 2010, Rock Town, located in Little Rock, which was honored by Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible. Because of the specific liquor laws of the state, the distillery creates just about anything you might need behind the bar, including a coffee liqueur, a vodka, and a bourbon created with rice.
I’ve written about Delta Dirt previously for Modern Farmer, located in the small town of Helena, not far from the Mississippi River. The family-owned operation started as a way to use excess sweet potatoes to craft vodka. The mineral-rich soil from the muddy river creates a unique terroir for its products.
Origami Spirits feels like an outlier, brewing sake in the small town of Hot Springs, home to the namesake national park. It uses the area’s natural resource, namely thermal spring water, and rice from the Arkansas Delta (the region where Delta Dirt is located).
Mississippi
Mississippi’s laws around alcohol are dated, to put it lightly. Prohibition didn’t end until 1966, and nearly half of the counties are still “dry.” But the state is making up for lost time in terms of creativity.
The head brewer at Fly Llama Brewing in Biloxi is also the state’s only master cicerone (and one of only 28 in the world!). The growing distillery scene includes brands like Wonderbird, Cathead, and Circle Hook. The bartenders at Siren Social Club in Gulfport and Saint Leo in Oxford are also showing off their skills with top-notch cocktails.
West Virginia
The distilling tradition goes as far back as that of Kentucky, with the Scots-Irish settling in the state in the 18th century. The climate allows for similar agriculture, where ingredients like heritage corn, wheat, and barley are grown. Because of this, several distilleries have popped up around the state, including Smooth Ambler, Rimfire (winner of double gold at Sip awards), and Swilled Dog (winner at SF Spirits).
Caroline Eubanks 