Southern Grace Distilleries, Inc., Mount Pleasant, N.C., has expanded whiskey production, hired new staff and added an additional 2000 square feet for their visitors center, first quarter 2018 tour and gift shop sales were up 341% from first quarter 2017.
Southern Grace Distilleries is located in a former NC state prison and has been a popular tourist destination, known as Whiskey Prison, but was very limited in the number of visitors it could accommodate for their Friday and Saturday tours.
“The reduction in the federal excise tax has allowed us to hire additional staff, increase our whiskey production, expand our visitor center and invest in marketing which is critical to the growth of our Conviction Small Batch Bourbon brand,” said Southern Grace Distilleries CEO Leanne Powell. “At the end of last year our bourbon was available in NC, SC and Washington, DC. Today you can also find Conviction Small Batch Bourbon in Louisiana, Illinois, Oklahoma and Connecticut. We couldn’t be happier.”
“Reducing the federal excise tax on spirits, beer and wine is more than a tax cut,” said Mark Gorman, Senior VP-Government Relations, Distilled Spirits Council. “It’s about enabling our members to invest back in their businesses and communities across the United States, generating jobs and supporting agriculture and tourism.”
Southern Grace Distilleries is adding a second shift in July and upfitting another old prison building to serve as a barrel house for their forthcoming bottled in bond bourbon. The reinvestment in the local community has already been a help to Mt. Pleasant, NC a town of 1700 people that had been hard hit by the decline of the textile industry.