(UPDATED: May 2017) The first legit Georgia spirits I ever tasted were from Thirteenth Colony, down in Americus – a vodka, a gin, a young corn whiskey. This was back in 2011. At the time, Thirteenth Colony was one of the few craft spirits games in town (err, state). But today? There are more than a dozen Georgia distilleries and spirits marketers. That may sound like great progress, and it is, but… this same craft spirit boom has been happening all over the country, and Georgia is actually well behind the curve thanks to a not-quite-friendly legal environment (EDIT: It’s getting much better!).

That said, many of today’s Georgia distilleries are indeed finding a way to succeed despite the challenging regulatory environment. Old Fourth Distillery is thriving in Atlanta, Richland Rum is now selling their heralded Georgia rum as far away as Europe and Australia, and there are a few micro-distilleries like Lazy Guy getting really creative with their offerings.

Thus far, moonshine and unaged corn whiskey are the most prevalent spirits here in Georgia. Why? Well, it fits with our heritage, that’s for sure. A good number of the legal distillers in Georgia proudly claim their moonshining roots. And there’s a good amount of locally grown corn to supply the process. But it’s also relatively quick and inexpensive to produce unaged whiskey, with no long term aging in barrels that would require extra capital, space, and patience. Beyond moonshine, though, you can find a pretty wide variety of distilled products in Georgia – from Richland’s superb estate rum made with their own Georgia sugar cane, to several nice vodkas and gins (Thirteenth Colony and Old Fourth), to fruit brandies (Dawsonville) that also reflect a bit of local heritage.

Here’s a list of currently operating Georgia distillers and spirits brands, noting which are currently sourcing their product vs. distilling themselves, upcoming plans for expansion, distribution footprint, and availability of tours. If you have any updates for the list, do let us know in the comments or by email, and I will keep it up to date. A handy map of Georgia distilleries is also provided at the bottom of the page. Cheers to drinking locally.

List of Georgia Distilleries and Spirits Brands (as of May 2017):



ASW Distillery, Atlanta, since 2011

Sourced Products: American Spirit Whiskey (currently distilled in Charleston, SC), and Fiddler Bourbon (a series of sourced whiskeys with unique finishes at ASW, plus an “unfilled” straight bourbon)

Distilled Products: Resurgens Rye Single Malt Rye Whiskey, Armour & Oak Georgia Apple Brandy, White Dog Rye Malt Spirit

Upcoming: Potentially a peach brandy using Lane Southern Orchards peaches, plus other small batch releases and additional Fiddler releases.

Distribution: GA, TN, SC, MD, PA, DC (with a strong focus on Georgia)

Tours available in Atlanta

Dalton Distillery , Dalton, since 2015

Distilled Products: Raymond’s Reserve Straight Corn Whiskey (111 proof), Raymond’s Reserve Cinnamon, Raymond’s Reserve Gluten Free (82 proof, made from corn and sunflower)

Upcoming: Raymond’s Reserve Sunflower Whiskey (also gluten free)

Distribution: Georgia, Texas, New Jersey

Tours available in Dalton

Dawsonville Moonshine Distillery, Dawsonville, since 2012

Distilled Products: White Lightning, Georgia Corn Whiskey, Georgia Mountain Apple Pie, Bill Elliott Georgia Apple Brandy, Moonshiner Jeff’s Presidential Rye Whiskey, Single Barrel Bill Elliott HWY 9 Rye Whiskey

Distribution: Georgia

Tours available in Dawsonville

Fruitland Augusta, since 2014

Sourced Products: Georgia Peach Vodka, Georgia Peach Sweet Tea (both made with Georgia peaches, bottled in Florida)

Upcoming: working with city of Augusta to explore options on building a distillery

Distribution: Georgia

Georgia Distilling Company, Milledgeville, since 2011

Distilled Products: Private label producer for Goodtime Moonshine & Vodka, Georgia Vodka, Doc Holliday Rye Whiskey, Copperhead Georgia Sour Mash, Rod and Rifle Whiskey (to be confirmed), plus Savannah Bourbon (see below)

Distribution: Various

Ghost Coast Distillery, Savannah, since 2017

Distilled Products: Vodka 261, Vodka 261 Orange

Upcoming Products: Bourbon being aged

Distribution: GA

Tours available in Blairsville

Grandaddy Mimm’s, Blairsville, since 2012

Sourced Products: (previously sourced from Georgia Distilling Co., now distilling as of 2016)

Distilled Products: Mule Kickin’ 140 proof, 100 proof corn whiskey, 80 proof apple brandy, 40 proof apple brown betty, 40 proof fresh peach cobbler, 40 proof wild cherry cobbler

Upcoming: Have applied for a distilling license

Distribution: GA, TN, TX, CA

Tours available in Blairsville

Independent Distilling Company, Decatur, since 2014

Distilled Products: Hellbender Corn Whiskey, Hellbender Bourbon, Independent Rum, Aged Rum, Outlier Series Limited Releases

Upcoming: 100% wheat whiskey currently aging in barrel, other small batch releases

Distribution: Georgia

Tours available in Decatur

Lazy Guy Distillery, Kennesaw, since 2014

Distilled Products: Kennesaw Lightning Corn Whiskey, Threesome Whiskey, Cold Heart Whiskey, The General 151 Proof, Side Track Bourbon, Snow Cream Liqueur (ltd winter release), 5th Article 1887 Rye Whiskey, Embers Georgia Straight Bourbon, Lotoko Spirits

Upcoming: Other longer-aged whiskeys

Distribution: Georgia, and hope to expand to TN and SC

Tours available in Kennesaw

Lovell Bros. / Ivy Mountain Distillery, Mt. Airy, since 2012

Distilled Products: Georgia Sour Mash (unaged), Georgia Sour Mash Whiskey (aged)

Distribution: Georgia

Moonrise Distillery, Clayton, since 2012

Distilled Products: James Henry Georgia Bourbon and Georgia Rye, Corn Squeezins Georgia Corn Whiskey

Distribution: Georgia

Tours available in Clayton

Old Fourth Distillery, Atlanta, since 2014 (read more: Old Fourth &Atlanta distilling history)

Distilled Products: Vodka, Gin, Lawn Dart Ginger Lemon Liqueur

Upcoming: Bourbon (sourced, aging in Atlanta until approximately 2019)

Distribution: Georgia

Tours available in Atlanta

Richland Rum, Richland, since 1999 with a major ramp up in 2012 (read more: Happy Hour interview with Richland’s Erik Vonk)

Distilled Products: Single Estate Old Georgia Rum, Single Estate Georgia Agricole

Distribution: GA, FL, SC, TN, CA, NY, NJ, PR, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Australia, and parts of the Caribbean

Tours available in Richland

R.M. Rose, Dillard, since 2016

Sourced Products: Georgia Corn Whiskey, Mountain Apple Corn Whiskey, Blackberry Corn Whiskey, Fire on the Mountain Cinnamon Corn Whiskey, and Good Neighbor Peach and Lemon Whiskey

Upcoming: TBD

Shop open in Dillard

Savannah Bourbon Co., Savannah, since 2014

Sourced Products: Savannah 88 Bourbon, Savannah Sweet Tea Lemonade Bourbon (both from Georgia Distilling Co. – to be confirmed)

Distribution: GA, SC

Still Pond Distillery, Arlington, since 2012

Distilled Products: Muscadine Moonshine, Double Barreled Moonshine, Peach Moonshine, 80 Proof Vintners Vodka, 99 Proof Vodka, 229 Vodka, Peach Vodka, Apple Vodka, 229 Distilled Gin.

Upcoming: Aging brandy produced from Still Pond grapes, initial release in 2017.

Distribution: Georgia

Tours available in Arlington (with Still Pond Winery)

Stillhouse Creek Craft Distillery , Dahlonega, since 2016

Distilled Products: White Gold unaged whiskey

Upcoming: 1829 Straight Bourbon, Gold Dust whiskey, botanical gin with local lavender

Distribution: Georgia

Tours available in Dahlonega

Thirteenth Colony, Americus, since 2009

Distilled Products: Southern Gin, Southern Vodka, Plantation Vodka, Southern Corn Whiskey, Southern Bourbon Whiskey, Southern Rye Whiskey

Upcoming: expansion of custom single barrel offerings, including unique finishes and barrel proofs

Distribution: GA, FL, SC, TN, KY, NH, VT, MI

Upcoming Distilleries…

Hope Springs, Lilburn, has filed for permits and has set up equipment, now aiming for summer 2017

Watts Whiskey Distillery, Avondale Estates, launching 2017

Updated: May 2017