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

March 4 2019
Even though Anna, a Wilmington native, and Bobby, who is from Mount Pleasant, dated for over four years after swiping right on each other, they never really talked about getting married … they just...

March 1 2019
Kitty and Kyle met during their freshman year at Clemson, but they didn’t begin dating until they got to know each other as study partners a few years later. After two years, a move to Charleston,...

February 28 2019
Bissell and Jack may live in Atlanta, but Charleston has played a large part in their relationship, from their dating days through their engagement and now with their wedding. Bissell’s mother is...

February 27 2019
Today’s styled shoot takes place on the patio of 5Church, a downtown church-turned-restaurant that doubles as a wedding venue. Nicki Paige, owner of wedding planning company Nicki Paige Collection,...

February 26 2019
Christa met Andrew when she first moved into the same Charlotte, North Carolina, townhome complex as him in 2013. For a while, they were just passing acquaintances, until he asked her out for drinks...

February 25 2019
We’ve got the world of modern dating to thank for this gorgeous celebration at Boone Hall Plantation. Christiana and Bud met on Tinder, and after chatting on the app for a while, they met up for a...

February 22 2019
Nadja and Ryan both grew up in Sarasota, Florida, but they didn’t meet until they were in college (and on her 21st birthday, no less). A decade of dating later, he surprised her with a 10th...

February 21 2019
We so want to be friends with these two Charleston high-school sweethearts. Ask when they met and Jackie will tell you it was went they were 15 years old, she was in braces, and neither could drive...