Distillery Near Charlotte, NC | Visit Southern Distilling Company in Statesville
Spend some time in Statesville, NC.
Southern Distilling Company is about 42 miles from Charlotte, NC. The drive is roughly 45 minutes straight up I-77 North to Statesville. We offer guided distillery tours, bourbon tastings, craft cocktails, and bottle sales at our 20-acre campus.
Charlotte has plenty of good bars. What it does not have is a working grain-to-glass whiskey distillery at this scale. We grow it, mill it, ferment it, distill it, age it, and bottle it in one place. You can stand on the floor and watch it all happen.
Most people put the trip off because they assume it eats their whole day. It does not. Leave Uptown after breakfast and you are back before dinner. Tours fill fastest on weekends, so book ahead if you are driving up on a Saturday.
How Far Is Southern Distilling Company from Charlotte
About 42 miles and 45 minutes. Take I-77 North out of Uptown Charlotte and follow it past Lake Norman into Statesville.
Directions from Uptown Charlotte:
- Get on I-77 North from Uptown.
- Stay on I-77 North for about 38 miles. You will pass Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville.
- Take the exit for Statesville and follow signs toward our campus.
- Arrive at 211 Jennings Road, Statesville, NC 28625.
Parking is free and on-site. There is room for cars, trucks, and buses. If you are coming with a group in a shuttle or van, let us know when you book so we can hold space.
Coming from north or west of the city, the drive is shorter. From Huntersville it is about 30 minutes. From Mooresville it is about 15.
Why Charlotte Visitors Make the Drive to Statesville
Because Statesville was once the Liquor Capital of the World, and we are the ones bringing that title back.
Before Prohibition, Iredell County produced more legal whiskey than anywhere else in the country. Then it stopped for almost a hundred years. Pete and Vienna Barger founded Southern Distilling Company in 2013 to reignite North Carolina’s whiskey tradition, and they built it here on purpose.
What that means for a visitor from Charlotte:
- A working production floor, not a display. You see the mash, the stills, and the bottling line running.
- 65,000 barrels aging in our rickhouse. That is a real inventory, aged three to twelve years.
- A 36,000 square foot distillery on a 20-acre campus, with a tasting room, a bourbon bar, outdoor space, and a few mini donkeys who have their own following.
- Grain grown by North Carolina farmers we know by name.
- 2024 NC Exporter of the Year, awarded by the state. Our Paragon Bottled-in-Bond has taken double gold at the New York World Wine and Spirits Competition.
Try our award-winning Paragon bourbon while you are here. It is a 100-proof wheated bourbon, 70 percent corn, 16 percent wheat, 14 percent malted barley, aged at least four years.
Plan a Day Trip from Charlotte to Statesville
Half a day is enough. A full day is better.
Here is a schedule that works:
9:30 a.m. Leave Uptown Charlotte on I-77 North.
10:15 a.m. Arrive at the distillery. Park and check in.
10:30 a.m. Guided tour. Milling, fermentation, distillation, barrel aging, bottling.
11:30 a.m. Tasting in the tasting room. Try the bourbon, the double rye, and the Double Shot bourbon cream.
12:15 p.m. Buy bottles in the gift shop.
1:00 p.m. Lunch in downtown Statesville, about ten minutes away.
2:30 p.m. Add a stop. Lake Norman is on the way back. Yadkin Valley wine country is about 40 minutes west if you want to make it a spirits-and-wine day.
5:00 p.m. Home in Charlotte.
If you are building a North Carolina distillery trail route out of Charlotte, Statesville is the northern anchor. Pair us with the Yadkin Valley wineries and you have a full weekend without leaving the Piedmont.
Bringing 10 or more people? Plan a group event and we will set aside time and space for you.
Tours, Tastings, and What to Do When You Get Here
Tours run daily and start at the top of the hour. Tickets are $15.00 per person.
What is included:
- A guided walk through the full grain-to-glass process
- A tasting of our Southern Star and Paragon expressions
- Time in the tasting room afterward
Good to know:
- Seniors and veterans get a discount. Active military are free.
- Guests under 21 are welcome on the tour at no charge. They can enjoy the history, just not the spirits.
- Friendly dogs are welcome in the tasting room. Pets cannot join tours of the production area.
- Snacks are available for purchase in the tasting room.
- Walk-ins are taken when there is room, but weekends book up. Reserve if you are driving from Charlotte.
The award-winning tasting room is open beyond tour hours. You can come for a bourbon tasting, order a craft cocktail, sit outside, and skip the tour entirely if that is more your speed.
Book your tour and we will have your names at the door.
Where to Buy Southern Star Bourbon Near Charlotte
At the distillery, and at ABC stores across the Charlotte area.
North Carolina is a control state. Spirits are sold through county ABC boards, not grocery or private liquor stores. That means two things for a Charlotte buyer. First, we cannot ship a bottle of bourbon to your house in North Carolina. Nobody can. Second, availability changes store to store, so it is worth calling ahead.
Your options:
- Buy at the distillery. Our gift shop carries the full Southern Star and Paragon lineup, including releases you will not find on a shelf in Charlotte.
- Mecklenburg County ABC stores. Southern Star Bourbon and Double Rye are stocked at locations across the county. Use the NC ABC product locator to check stock near you.
- Surrounding county ABC boards. Iredell, Gaston, Union, and Cabarrus boards carry our products as well.
ABC Stores and Bourbon Bars Carrying Southern Star
Southern Star is poured at bars and restaurants across the Charlotte region, and stocked at ABC stores in Mecklenburg and the surrounding counties.
If you run a bar or a bottle shop in the Charlotte area and want to carry Southern Star, get in touch. We will point you to the right distributor contact.
Start Planning Your Visit from Charlotte
You are 45 minutes from a distillery near Charlotte that makes whiskey from North Carolina grain, start to finish, on one campus. Book a tour, bring a designated driver, and take a bottle home.
Southern Distilling Company
211 Jennings Road, Statesville, NC 28625
Phone: +1 704-978-7175
Book Your Tour from Charlotte Get Driving Directions
Also worth a look: our founders’ story, our distillery tours in Statesville, and our private events and wedding venue.
