Wow this was a micro craft distillery at its best. Customer service, selection, and knowledge. They truly deserve being the face of the charlotte area whiskey. 1st entering, you walk into a small area with a gift shop area, bar area, and small separate sitting area on the first floor. The small sitting area also houses their original small still they currently produce their gin in. Pretty cool piece of history. So about the juice...They're really got some good stuff. You can do a curated flight for 10 dollars each pour, you can also do single pours of whatever they have available as well from their core products to the single barrels. I really love what they're doing with the "Story" line where they experiment with different finishes and blends. I'm not a huge rye guy but they are certainly doing it right. That says a lot for me to grab 2 to take home of their rye single barrels..my bartender was so cool and knowledgeable I even grabbed the one he actually picked. Overall 10/10. They're giving the bigger names a definite run for their money. You will not go wrong supporting and drinking local with them. Hands down the best in the charlotte area. They do offer shipping but, you NEED to go in for the full experience and the option to grab distillery exclusive bottles. #Foodierunner approved lol read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

See all

It was a scorching hot North Carolina day in April when we arrived for the afternoon tour at Southern Grace Distillery. We had paid in advance and made it just in the nick of time to join our group of about a dozen people. The crowd was a mix of adults and children; personally, I didn't quite understand the presence of kids on a jailhouse and whiskey tour, but the group was ready to dive into the history. The tour kicked off with chilling news of hauntings. Our guide mentioned that the show "Ghost Hunters" had even visited the site, certifying the old jail as haunted--though fortunately by "friendly" spirits. The sensory experience was a bit of a rollercoaster. I generally enjoy the scent of bourbon, and the initial aroma upon entering the distillery is quite pleasant. However, the main room where we spent a significant portion of the tour had a scent that was overwhelming and wholly unpleasant. That said, the content of the tour was good. It provided a well-balanced mix of intriguing historical facts about the prison and the technical side of whiskey making. The kids got restless during the tour and actually started brutally kicking each other in the shins. They each had on shell toed Crocs, so you could hear the crunch of bone and flesh beneath each kick. Their parents let it go on indefinitely. The hour passed quickly and was well worth the $14 adult admission. The tasting at the end is not for the faint of heart. They serve hard liquor, and I do mean HARD. My lips were numbing and my face was next. I had to tap out after the third swig! On the bright side, the gift shop is fantastic. They have the most darling items; we walked away with two tote bags and a delicious pink lemonade drink that will be perfect for sharing with friends this summer. This is a unique, affordable way to spend an hour, provided you can handle the heat and the high proof! read more

See all

I just wanted to share this GEM ! First and foremost my Wife sent me a Snapchat vid about this PRISON (LOL) BUT wait it's a distillery on the grounds of a formerly run Prison. Very Cool & Great presentation!!! Got to take the tour with "Santa Clause" you will know what I mean when you see Him ...... Very knowledgeable & attentive Staff .... Best part THE BURBON WHISKEY is ON POINT !!! read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Half way through my Old Fashion .... Perfection - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

See all

First visit to the Whiskey Prison and what a memorable few hours. Ben, our tour guide, was personable, knowledgeable and made our time there a wonderful experience. The bourbons were just plain terrific. The stories behind them were equally great. This is a truly hand made product with no machinations on property. Left with 5 bottles of juice and a t shirt!! Cannot wait for a return engagement. read more

See all

This is the most unique place you will go to see Whiskey in production! My second visit and first tour. The Bourbon is fantastic! Same mashbill for everything just different barrels and locations in the jail! Can't wait to come back. Easy drive from downtown Charlotte. The tour guide and staff are awesome! Grabbed Bottles and BBQ sauce! read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

See all

Great staff! Super friendly! We didn't do the tour. We just did some sipping on the amazing liquors. Loved the craft and love that goes into each of their products. Super cool spot to have a distillery. Relaxed experience, they have a bar and a tasting bar and some outside seating. read more

See all

Had a awesome tasting+ tour today! Our guide throughout the experience was amazing and the drinks were great. We will definitely be back soon. A totally different, awesome experience read more

See all

Zack was an awesome tour guide!!! Very imperative and answered all questions! Y'all KY ppl come to NC and get educated!!

Great time, cool place, good products, only negative was how cold it was in there! Lots of neat items to shop including all the alcohol. Also nice to see areas from the Ghost Hunters episode! read more

See all

Great! Guide was awesome and staff was friendly and helpful! We loved that you could take drinks on the tour too! The only thing we wished we heard was more history on the actual prison too but we understand that their main priority is their liquor! We will definitely be recommending this place to friends and visitors! read more

See all

I was excited to try this place but fairly disappointed with it. Upon parking it was hard to tell where to go since all buildings seemed run down and vacant. Finally saw the "gift shop" where they were making drinks and had just a few things for sale. The service was not friendly, they all seemed annoyed to have to be there. The pink fizz drink was all lemonade and ice. I thought that $15-18 per drink was pretty hefty considering how run down it was. All tables were in the full sun outside. I loved the concept of this distillery/prior prison, but really no part of my experience here was all that great. Most likely won't be back. read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Menu - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

See all

My wife and I have toured a few distilleries and love trying new bourbons. In addition to the tasty bourbon that's distilled here, it truly is a one of a kind experience. We thoroughly enjoyed touring the different cell blocks and learning the history of the facility. The staff is friendly and makes the experience all the more enjoyable. The tour and tasting is an unforgettable experience. 10/10. read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Aging room - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

Awesome place with a cool concept. Friendly staff, super helpful! I got there just before close and they still gave me a great experience. Definitely will be back. Their 6-year single barrel staff pick bourbon is awesome and for a solid price read more

I love history, creepiness, and distilleries so Southern Grace Distilleries was a places I very much needed to visit. It is super easy to book your tour online. They have a few different tour options and we went with the one that gave you a daytime tour of the distillery and a tasting. If you go during summer I would suggest that you do the nighttime tour since it was crazy hot during our day tour. The grounds and history are interesting and worth the price. Before you start you can grab a cocktail and take it with you on the tour. After the tour is over you complete the actual tasting. Fun and unique thing to do for a date or for a group. read more

See all

Great cocktails and friendly staff! Old fashioned was fantastic and was made uniquely with cherry and rhubarb bitters.

We did the tour and tasting yesterday are already planning another trip! Everything you want on a trip to a distillery, knowledgeable tour guide, friendly staff, amazing alcohol and even dogs to pet! We stayed after the tour and tasting and did a flight and wbery whiskey is amazing! 10/10 read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

See all

Go for the Tour, stay for the tastings! Distillery sits in t a local prison closed on 2011. Fun and interesting tour. Worth the fee. They have a nice collection of products to purchase and a small bar where you can purchase cocktails made with their bourbon and beer, wine, soda, etc. No food truck any significant food available but ask about bringing in your own. read more

By far my favorite whiskey distillery I have come across. The tour is amazing, informative yet casual, and very interesting. The tasting afterwards was very enjoyable. The staff here love what they do and it shows. The area is very unique, being an old prison. I'm glad to have found my go to place for whiskey and I recommend this place to anyone who loves bourbon. read more

This place is just the coolest. Like history? Or maybe just like whiskey? Either one this is a must stop. They call it Whiskey Prison and that is what it is. An old prison prison that could no longer get the funding closed in 2011 making room for a few very cool and innovative people to see that the prison would make a great distillery. Here we are today. Get tickets on line. Tours run regularly, are inexpensive and are an hour long. At the end of the tour you can do mini tastes of the whiskey offerings and even purchase what you taste and get one of their great souvenirs. Stop in for a tour and a taste. Either way you are in for a great day! read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

Such a different distillery. Awesome! And may hubby's favorite whiskey. You have to do the tour. So cool how the barrels are aged !

A really cool Distillery at a closed down minimum security prison. The tour was very informative and we asked hundreds of questions, both about the whiskey and the prison itself... didn't hear one I don't know and was pleased to answer every question.. But the beet part is the whiskey itself. A very smooth great tasting whiskey that everyone loves. It's the first to go at any party I throw... read more

See all

We were looking for something different to do and this place popped up doing an Internet search. A tour of a distillery in an old jail, why not? The tour was very affordable and worth every dollar. There is some walking between buildings but not a great distance. I did notice some in our tour group were a little older with health issues, that had to find a seat a few times during the approximate 45 minute tour. Seats were not readily available. Before the start of the tour, you have the opportunity to purchase some beverages from their cooler or from their bar to enjoy on the tour, but if you're a lightweight, like me, you might want to wait until after the tour. I had visions of not being able to walk out of that jail because I was wasted. They take the quality of their alcohol quite seriously at this place. There is a tasting after the tour of very strong moonshine and bourbon. Once your tour is over, you're free to hang out and snack and drink if you'd like. They do not serve food here, you'll have to go back into the small town to grab a bite to eat and I recommend you do to soak up some of that alcohol. Definitely worth the trip! read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

SO friggen cool! Would give more stars if I could. This company is doing amazing things with their brand and, their whiskey! My wife and I had a spectacular experience for our anniversary! The history of this place is so cool! And the fact that so much has been adapted and repurposed! It's awesome! Had a great tour from production, start to finished product! The tasting was wonderful. Their whiskey is spectacular!!! If butterscotch/caramel is in your wheelhouse for flavor profile, look no further! Our guide, the COO and one of the Master Distillers, Thomas was great! Super accommodating, and knowledgeable! Even poured us an AMAZING cocktail for our anniversary! This is a must for whiskey lovers and non whiskey lovers alike near Charlotte!!!! Will definitely be back! read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

Great place with lots of history. Check out the distillery tour and then follow it up with a sampling. Unique and fun. Great date or hangout with friends place. Friendly staff and amazing drinks. Definitely a must do if you are in the area. read more

See all

I lucked up on groupon tickets for 7.00 so decided to go that same day, July 6th. First thing I will say is never, ever take this tour in the summer. It was hot as heck, there is no air conditioning until the end in the tasting room. Sweat was running down my back, my undies were plastered to me and every man in the group had a soaking wet shirt. Not recommended when its hot! All that said, its an okay tour. I was expecting to see more of the prison but you barely see anything. This was the day tour, I'm told you see more on the night time tour but I dont know for sure. I love the idea and I wanted to love the bourbon but it was just wayyyyy too much for me. I usually just drink white alcohols, brown ones aren't for me. I didn't like their moonshine, pink lemonade or apple dumplin. It is all very, very strong, burny, hot and spicy. Not for me and I really tried hard, I wanted to like the Conviction so much. read more

See all

this whole Prison Whiskey thing makes my head hurt... first you enter a department of corrections facility (where the whisky is made?) then you get to have a taste, and then maybe buy some. What?! The whole thing is completely bass ackwards, and what's with the "E"? I didn't arrive on time but got to tag along anyway, kinda bummed about missing half the introductory video in the chapel though. We entered the compound en masse, passed the guard tower, went in through the gate, and after a warning about fire ants it's off to the 1987 dorm building. Pass the day rooms and find fermenters in F Dorm, and distillation in D Dorm. Ice maker and other such fun in the showers, general and bonded storage in G and B Dorms, a four position bottler and an automatic labeler in the last room before solitary then off to the rack house after a short detour to the hot box. Finish in the tasting room and pick up a keepsake. There's a little more to it but that's why you take the tour. Virginia does a really good job with the narrative; providing some fun facts and enough chatter to keep it interesting. So please pay attention and be polite when asking questions. read more

See all

What a hidden gem, a distillery and a prison tour with ghost stories included. I'm sorry but I do not think this gets any better. Great tour and tour guide. Cool stories of area in past times. Fun tastings at end and great products even great barbecue sauce. And they donate to dog charities and breast cancer. I want to move in, love their business model, prison location and spirits. Will certainly return. A must to bring out of town guests. read more

Our group went to this distillery last Thursday. Wonderful experience, excellent tour & explanation of their distillation process. Guide knew his business & enjoyed his job. Good tastings & available products. We will come back for another tour and check out the ghost tour. read more

See all

Great tour of Southern Grace Distillery. Ben, was wonderful tour guide, and even those of us who do not drink, found it interesting learning the process of distilling spirits. read more

This place was OK.. I was in town for work and needed something to do before my flight and found them on a whim. The checkin process was super confusing and IMHO they need better signage to find the main entrance. The history of the place is pretty cool but they need to do a clean up and some better "displays" of how the process is. It seems very haphazard and like a home brewery just setup in a random place. Doesn't seem very organized at all. Honestly I wish the tour would focus more on the history of the prison. The tastings were OK. If you have time to go and you're in the area, It's kinda neat but nothing I would go out of my way for. read more

This place is so awesome!! When you arrive, you check in at the church. Inside you are greeted by your tour guide. The guide will take pictures with your phone behind bars and take a mugshot photo in another room. After that you watch an informative video of the prison. Next you are taken to the "hot house". The hot house was used to punish prisoners. On to the next building. Inside is where the whiskey is "stored". Inside was also the doctors office and examine room. Creepy. On to another building where you see the process of distillery. After that, you are given samples of the whiskey. At the same time, there are open cells to take pictures in. Super informative and fun!! read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Hot house - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

If you are looking for an unusual excursion that is informative and fun consider a prison tour at Southern Grace Distilleries! They have both day tours and night tours as well as special events like food truck Friday. The setting for this tour takes place on the campus of the former Mt. Pleasant state prison. The prison was closed a few years ago. When the popularity of Sun Dog 130 corn whiskey/moonshine grew Southern Grace moved their operations into the former prison to accommodate their need for more space. They have left the actual prison intact except for the removal of a few needed walls. The day tour begins right outside the chain link fence adorned with coiled barbwire in a small brick chapel. The chapel is very pretty and clean and features a beautiful stained glass behind the pulpit. You will be shown a video that features the history of Cabarrus County moonshining, history of the prison, stories from former prison guards, and other informative factoids(I won't spoil it for you) Following the video you are guided inside the locked prison gates. You will pass the former watch tower and the picnic tables where the inmates ate outside. The guide will thoroughly explain what was housed within the individual buildings. You'll see the original 1929 building where the inmates called home. The guide will actually take you inside the newest building on the campus that became the housing unit for the prison population. This is the area that now serves as the moonshine production and bottling area! You will see the stills where the corn and grain are transformed into liquid alcohol. You will details of the testing and recycling process. These stills are located in the area where the prisoners' bunks used to occupy. You are shown the showers and dayrooms. The bottling and labeling area is explained. There's actually way too many things to tell about in one review. It really is like two tours in one. The prison tour would be an interesting tour independently. When you add the distillery aspect to the tour- you can't help but to ask questions and participate. The final leg of the tours lands you in solitary confinement. You see the area that was meant to discourage bad behavior. The cells are small and quaint . After a quick glimpse in the solitary confinement cells you are given the chance to sample the fruits of Southern Grace. I tried the Sun Dog 130 and the Sun Dog Pink Lemonade. I know the former prisoners would have LOVED it!! I recommend this tour. It was highly enjoyable. I am actually planning to go back and take the night tour. read more

What a fun place! A distillary in the former Cabarrus Correctional Center is a great idea! Virginia gave us a very informative tour of both the prison and the distillery. I also must mention the liquor and cocktails are delicious! Hopefully, soon, you'll be able to ship your spirits to other states! read more

Go here. There's a Groupon online and it's the coolest place ever! We went for a "day date" today and the knowledge and creativity that went into this place and the notable way they present and repurpose history is absolutely five star. All the liquors are absolute BOMB and I would love to see a tattoo parlor pop up in there with the extra space! Keep on keeping on! We will definitely be taking out of town family here on next visit read more

I understand that this is a start up small business, however, my husband and myself were somewhat disappointed that more was not told about the prison. I grew up in Mt Pleasant. It would be nice if they would try to save some of the areas as they were when built in 1929. In other words some old...some new. Keep some original and use some for storage. I am glad we went but it is not somewhere I would visit again. I'm thankful that I had a Groupon and did not have to pay the 14.00 per person. read more

Southern Grace Distilleries - Historical Tours Near Me - Mount Pleasant, North Carolina

Southern Grace was amazing. The tour was very informative and interesting. I learned so much about the prison and the distillery. The corn whiskey was very good; however, I didn't like the bourbon as much. The staff was very nice and answered all of our questions. I definitely will attend a tour and a tasting again. read more

It's a prison. They make an award winning 130 proof moonshine and give charitable donations to animal and veterans charities, what's not to like? See how these guys transformed an old prison into a unique tourist attraction while also transforming an otherwise difficult to repurpose location into a boutique small batch distillery that combines modern methods with very old school North Carolina liquor making tradition. Make sure you take plenty of photos of yourself behind bars, especially after being put in solitary confinement with the corn liquor tasting! read more

See all

My hubby did an internship a long time ago when this was an actual working prison, so when we heard they were distilling bourbon and offering tours there now, we thought why not take a long drive out to the country and see what it's all about?!! We've done 1/2 of the Bourbon Trail in Louisville so we were excited at the concept. Be warned: it's pretty low-budget here at Southern Grace. I realize it's a work in progress and I hope as their brand expands and generates income, they will do more to spruce the place up and make it a better experience. We went on a Saturday, so they weren't actually distilling anything which was a bit of a disappointment. Our tour guide gave us some interesting facts about the prison, including that this site is home to one of two "hot houses" in NC that were used for solitary confinement. I had no idea such a thing existed and quite frankly was repulsed that such inhumane treatment was EVER allowed. The tour itself was not very long and since it was hot outside, I was totally OK with that! I will echo what others have written: do not go on a hot summer day. You will only have a/c at the start and at the end. You will sweat! The tour ends in a gift shop where you are given the opportunity to sample four of their products. I wanted to like Conviction, but IMHO it lacked the flavor complexity that I love in a Bourbon. I'm hoping as they extend the aging, it will develop a better flavor profile. Until then, I wish them tons of success in developing NC spirits! read more

See all

For a tour you need to call in advance and schedule a time, we went on a Friday thinking it would be better time than the weekend. Not really much to see or do and everything is spread out through the prison. The tastings while there are 6 available you can only taste 4 due to NC state law they claim, based on the 4 nothing really stood out as they were fair at best. They have rushed the Conviction Bourbon in smaller barrels to get it to market in 8 months not years so it maybe great later but not at less than a year in the oak barrel read more

The tour was fantastic and was educational for people that do not know how whiskey is made. You definitely leave with awe of how much they can make at one time. With all of that being said, it is also a prison and there are a couple interesting stories that come with it. Ghost stories are available at the night tour, and don't come with the day, which I was a little disappointed about but still a great tour nonetheless. At the end, there was a tasting with some of the product that they make and cocktails that you are able to purchase while still in store. Overall, I felt like there was some more that could have been said and I felt a little bit empty, but it was still a great tour. read more