Lift Your Spirits



PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Lift Your Spirits | Be it for your bachelor party, bachelorette bash, or even your rehearsal dinner—rally the gang for a visit to a local distillery

Charleston Distilling Co.
(above, photograph courtesy of Charleston Distilling Co.)
Spirits: King Charles Vodka, Jasper’s Gin, and Tolerance Cinnamon Ginger Liqueur
What’s Cool: The distillery’s 8,700-square-foot warehouse sits in the heart of Upper King Street.
Tours & Tastings: Hourly tours for up to 20 people ($7 per person; includes a shot glass and three half-ounce tastings; Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m.)
Rent the Space: $1,800-$3,300/four hours; can hold up to 128 people; rate includes space only (Master distiller on-site for tours: $150/two hours)
Get the Goods! Charleston Distilling Co. is sold at liquor stores statewide.
Info: 501 King St., (843) 718-1446, www.CharlestonDistilling.com

Striped Pig Distillery
(above, photograph by Robbin Knight)
Spirits: Striped Vodka, Striped Rum, and 120-proof Striped ’Shine
What’s Cool: They claim to make the strongest legal moonshine sold in the Palmetto State.
Tours & Tastings: Hourly tours for groups of any size (free; includes three half-ounce tastings; Wednesday-Friday, 3-7 p.m.; Saturdays, noon-5 p.m.; and by appointment; no reservation required unless touring by appointment)
Rent the Space: $500-$1,500; can hold up to 250 people inside and additional guests outside; rate includes tours and three half-ounce tastings per guest; specialty cocktails available for additional cost
Favors: T-shirts, hats, koozies, shot glasses, and stickers; customized products are available via special order Get the Goods! Striped Pig is sold in liquor stores statewide; find retailer lists online.
Info: 2225-A Old School Dr., North Charleston, (843) 276-3201, www.StripedPigDistillery.com




Firefly Distillery & Tasting Room
(above, photograph by Docent Prodigy) 
Spirits: Original Sweet Tea Vodka, Raspberry Tea Vodka, Peach Tea Vodka, Skinny Tea Vodka, Straight Vodka, Firefly Moonshine, and more
What’s Cool:In 2008, they were the first to put sweet tea vodka on the market. The Southern classic is vodka infused with tea leaves sourced from nearby Charleston Tea Plantation.
Tours & Tastings: Tastings for groups up to 50 people ($6 per person; includes a shot glass and three half-ounce tastings; Tuesday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed January)
Rent the Space: Not available for private parties Favors: 50-milliliter mini bottles, three-gallon tea dispenser, T-shirts, ski hats, and baseball caps
Get the Goods! Firefly is sold at liquor stores statewide; find national retailer list online.
Info: 6775 Bears Bluff Rd., Wadmalaw Island, (843) 557-1405, www.FireflyVodka.com




High Wire Distilling Co. 
(above, photograph by Jennings King Photography) 
Spirits: Hometown Vodka, Silver Rum, Hat Trick Extraordinarily Fine Botanical Gin, Belonger’s Rum, and Quarter-Acre Sorghum Whiskey
What’s Cool: Scott Blackwell, who founded High Wire along with his wife, Ann Marshall, in September 2013, is a Culinary Institute of America-trained baker and hand-selects ingredients like Barbadian molasses and Tennessee sorghum for their small-batch fare.
Tours & Tastings: Hourly tours for groups of up to 20 people ($5 per person; includes three half-ounce tastings; Thursday-Saturday; 1-6 p.m.; reservations recommended for groups of five or more)
Rent the Space: $2,000 Friday and Saturday, 6-11 p.m.; $1,250 Sunday-Thursday, 6-11 p.m.; can hold up to 150 people; rate includes tours and tastings for 20 guests or less
Favors: Stainless steel flasks, shot glasses, hats, and T-shirts
Get the Goods! High Wire is sold in liquor stores throughout South Carolina and Georgia.
Info: 652 King St., (843) 755-4664, www.HighWireDistilling.SquareSpace.com

The Wedding Row

April 17 2019
Kyleigh met Nick when she was in Cardiff, Wales, getting her master’s degree. (Her friend had convinced her to give Tinder a shot, and her “first, last, and only Tinder date,” she says, was the born-...

April 16 2019
We don’t know about you, but these past few days of shorts weather have had us daydreaming about summer. Brandy McGhie, owner of local luxury event planning company Classic Planning & Design Co...

April 15 2019
Tricia and Brandon were in the same fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary here in Charleston, but their love story didn’t begin until a college football game 14 years later. The South Carolina...

April 12 2019
Designer Lela Rose has a saying we can all toast to: “Nothing says chic like matching your drink to your dress.” Fashion stylist Lindsey Nowak took that as a challenge, linked arms with Reagan Barnes...

April 11 2019
Taylor and Sam may be from Virginia and live in Waco, Texas, but the Palmetto State holds a special place in their hearts. They met at the University of South Carolina when Sam, a freshman fraternity...

April 10 2019
Thank goodness for Joe Quick—the mutual friend who lived up to his name and set up Avery and Henry when all three were in high school in Atlanta. After his pleas for them to meet went unheeded, he...

April 9 2019
Gillian and Phil met while studying abroad in Ireland. But because they attended different schools stateside (he was at the University of South Carolina, she was at The State University of New York...

April 8 2019
Here’s how Emmy and Josh explain how they became an item: “Josh had been courting Emmy for quite some, and on one evening in June at Dillon’s pub in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, he decided...