This is my third trip to Charlottesville and third time stopping in to Silverback. The drinks are great and th bartenders are extremely nice. read more

Silverback Distillery - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Afton, Virginia

See all

Worst bartender I've ever had in my life. We had to return a drink 3 times it was so bad after waiting half an hour. She forgot half the drinks in our groups order when we only had 4 people... our whiskey sour tasted like a margarita. The only redeeming quality was the clean port-a-potty. read more

Nick is the best bartender. Not kidding. All five of their products, absolutely incredibly drinkable.

Honestly the best vodka I have ever had. And the honey rye was out of this world. Not a big gin drinker until I tasted this gin. And our service was fabulous! Took a lot home! read more

I'm not really into "spirits" but this was my first ever tasting at a distillery. I found the visit to be very informative, and the mixed drink sampler tasty. I'm not much of a connoisseur to know what to say about tasting the samples straight, but I'll just take everyone's word for it. But 5 stars for presentation, quality of the facility and knowledge of the staff. I left knowing a little more about spirits than when I arrived. read more

I was hesitant to visit a distillery at first, because I didn't think I would enjoy trying straight shots of liquor. However, after a ton of recommendations to visit Silverback, and my husband's request, we visited Silverback on a wine tour and I am so happy we did!! They offer mixed drinks for the tasting in addition to just straight liquor and I really, really enjoyed the tasting! I'm not normally a gin person but their gin was amazing so we ended up buying a bottle! The staff were all very nice and I would definitely recommend this place! read more

OMG! HONEY RYE!!! BY FAR THE BEST!! Love the atmosphere and personalities. Great place. Can't wait to visit again!!!

Great honey rye and bourbon. I really do need to say though that you need to greatly improve the whiskey sour...it was not good....so sour with no whiskey taste, no cherry, no orange, no shake or stir. Your product is great...don't skimp on perfecting the cocktails. read more

I can honestly say, I've never been anywhere that provides such high quality services and products. If you are looking for anywhere to give you a positive experience having a casual drink, please come to Silverback Distillery!!! Every employee is friendly and takes an interest in your business, regardless if you are here for the first time or an elite member that comes in multiple times per month. The owner Denver shows an interest in every customer coming in, even offering personal tours of the facility, explaining processes of making the products. Silverback provides the most high quality products such as vodka, rye, honey rye, and gin (I've heard many complaints about gin from people, this is by far the smoothest and best gin I've ever had). I try every visit to buy at least a couple of bottles to take home my family can enjoy until the next visit. The toughest decision often is trying to figure out what bottles I wish to take home because the product quality is so excellent. There are many different drinks you can try while sitting down, chatting with friends/bartenders. I'd definitely suggest trying out the different types of liquor to see what you would like to take home. I've been pleased every visit to Silverback and highly recommend this establishment to anyone that wants a great drink, you won't be disappointed! read more

Awesome place! They have the tasting menu down to a science. There is a drink that work's for every type of person. We loved that you could order the mini-drinks. I ended up purchasing a bottle of the honey rye. It was excellent!The staff treats everyone in such a welcoming way. Can't wait to visit VA again abs come back to this terrific spot! read more

I love hard liquor but the rest of my party did not and we all left happy. You can do shot tastings or little mixed drinks to taste the various liquors. The "bartender" was very knowledgeable and friendly. read more

Wonderful story behind this distillery in the Blue Ridge Mountains, they are doing everything right, creating quality products and building a good following. Their products are sold in retail stores in the metro Washington DC area. My favourite is the Honey Rye whiskey, it is fantastic! read more

First time to Silverback. The staff was fantastic, very friendly and took time with every customer. Vodka and gin were exceptional. The rye wasn't really my taste. Great atmosphere. read more

Really great, clean vodka here period experienced and friendly sales staff. Very cool bottle with a gorilla on the inside looking out at you through the bottle. you want to save this one read more

Stoped by and had a wonderful intro to silverback. Would recommend to anyone. Very smooth vodka. I'm not into darks but the honey rye was really nice. Bought a bottle of honey rye and vodka. read more

This was my first time at a distillery. I wasn't sure what to expect but Silverback was a good time. The staff encourages you to try their spirits in creative mixed drink samplers. I am not a huge gin drinker but after today I have a found a gin favorite. I had to buy a bottle it was so good. Word to the wise mind the grain liquor, it is pretty good but potent. read more

Silverback is by far the best stop on Nelson 151. My girlfriend and I are Gorilla Club members (1/2 price tastings, discounted merchandise) and we trek over the mountain several times a month to swing by for tastings. The staff are all amazing, remember our favorite drinks by heart, and keep the atmosphere feeling stress free even on the busy days. My personal faves are the house made Bloody Mary mix, Shock the Monkey, and the Hairy Cherry (all vodka based). They also make a bomb Moscow Mule. Each guest is allotted 3oz of liquor that can be divided between straight pours, 3 full cocktails, 6 mini cocktails or a combination. Full tastings are around $20/person, but for up to 6 cocktails it's totally worth it! Great stop for large groups or date nights! Can't speak highly enough about Silverback! read more

Awesome place! Where do I begin? Their gin is phenomenal, suggest you try the gin mule; super friendly staff, very knowledgeable, it's a new place so they are trendy and up to date. PS they allowed our fur babies in! Dog friendly and great drinks you need to definitely stop by! read more

Silverback Distillery - Mixed or straight up - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Afton, Virginia

Wow! We usually drive right past this place on our way to/from Bold Rock and Blue Toad cideries. Finally stopped in, and so glad we did. The Sniffed Old Fashioned was AWESOME! So were the Moscow Mule and the Honey Mule. We'll definitely be back. read more

We took our visiting family of 12 to two different distilleries today. Silver Back and Virginia Distillery. These places were on opposite ends of the scale. We could not get out of Silver Back fast enough, the service could not be any worse. Both bartenders were rude and disgusting. The atmosphere and decor could not be any more tacky. Although the spirits were ok the individual cocktails were never the same even though most of us ordered the same thing. By stark contrast we entered the Va. distillery and felt comfortable as soon as we walked in. The room and service were fantastic and we actually learned about the spirits we were sampling. Our wait person could not have been more kind and professional. Our families recommendation is be sure to visit the Va. Distillery and then by a cheap bottle of gin and just skip Silver Back. read more

I love their gin and whiskey!! Also, the Assistant of Operations fella is really sweet!

Brown haired male worker was very rude to me and my family. Would not come back if he was working.

This was such a great place to visit. My group and I came here as part of our Hop On Hop Off tour and I'm so glad we did. Marcie aka Moose was our bartender and she made our visit so much fun. I really enjoyed the Sex In The Jungle drink, as well as the Smoked S'mores drink. Watching Marcie make that S'mores drink was really cool to see and I'm glad I got it on video. I wish we had more than an hour to spend there but we will definitely be back when we return to the Charlottesville area. read more

Bartender was friendly and extremely knowledgeable. He also knows how to make a margarita!! Would definitely recommend. Tasting was also worth the money. read more

Silverback Distillery has a nice bar and friendly servers. The gin was OK and the whiskey was overpriced at $5 for 1/2 oz and not that good. Next trip to Afton/Nelson County I plan to spend time at local breweries, wineries and hard cider locations and skip Silverback Distillery. read more

It was a great change to visiting wineries. My husband and I did the sampling for $10 that got you 3 small mixed drinks. The grain liquor was really good but I have to give credit to the gin it was the best gin I have ever had. The smoothest gin ever!! The staff was really friendly and we got a tour from the owner's daughter. I'm definitely looking to go back when they have the bourbon available!! read more

This is the best distillery I've been to by far. My personal favorite drinks are the Shock The Monkey and the Alpha Elixir! So good! If you are in the Charlottesville area this place is a must to stop at. The place has a cool vibe and the Silverback team totally knows how to mix up the best cocktails! read more

Drove thru the rain to visit. The yelp app said they were open. When we arrived sign on door said 'closed' called business recording said they were open Monday thru Thursday 12:00 to 5:00 but place was locked up tight. read more

Had a great experience here. You can try their liquor straight up or in several different cocktails. Very friendly staff. A great addition to the 151 area. read more

try the gin! probably the best I've had! I'm not big on trying hard alcohols because typically I would only have it in a mixed drink, so I was super excited that they make mini cocktails as well as allowing you to taste what they have straight up. cool place to stop read more

Drove past this place many times to visit our son in Lynchburg, and finally stopped in. When you walk through the door there is a STRONG burnt wood smell, and no warning signs on the doors for asthema sufferers like both my wife and me. Turns out they are using oak wheels at a bar station to make smoked drinks with a torch. Nice novelty, but going about it cheap and wrong way. Bartender very friendly and knowledgeable. No sooner had my wife finished her shot of vodka (which was very smooth and light) when she had to bail out as a bartender was torching the wheel, setting off a cloud of smoke before putting a glass over it. ASTHEMATICS BEWARE! Cocktail smokers are inexpensive ($40-175), use less wood, and don't stink up the entire place. If you watched any bar/cocktail show you know you don't need a plumbing torch blazing away for over 40 seconds to make smoke for a single cocktail glass. As the wife sat outside recovering from the smoke bomb I tried a whiskey flight of 4 shots. The 151 Moonshine has too much fire and burn which prevents you from tasting any flavor, indicating it is being distilled too quickly at too high a temperature. As a science experiment try it first, followed by the bourbon made from it. Amazing how much the bourbon is improved by the charcoal in the burned oak barrels. Imagine how much better it could be if the mash were cooked off properly. Remaining whiskeys were smooth but a little lacking in flavor. Suspect grain-sugar balance in mash is off. If it doesn't make a good wart for beer, it isn't going to be a good whiskey. Honey whiskey is well done if you like honey, but for purists the honey may be hiding some off flavors if that mash is being cooked too high as well. The prices and glitz on the bottles are a little high for the quality of liquor they contain. Would have given 4 stars if warning signs were posted on doors for asthematics, and product matched their prices. read more