Founded in 2013 by local entrepreneurs Pete and Vienna Barger, Southern Distilling Co., Statesville, N.C., offers a broad range of contract distilling services for domestic and foreign brand owners, distilleries and retailers including custom distilling, warehousing, and bottling/packaging services.

The 25,000-square-foot distillery is located on a 20-acre farm in Statesville. The grain-to-glass, certified craft distillery allows its contract clients to custom define the product and the mash bill, it says. “Our state-of-the-art equipment and expert staff provide the highest level of quality control while allowing for maximum flexibility,” said Pete Barger, co-owner and principal for Southern Distilling, in a statement. “We work collaboratively with our contract clients to create products that are authentically their own and our production capacity allows us to provide these services immediately.”

Southern Distilling offers an opportunity for clients to create the grain-to-glass, craft-made spirits that are key to their brand, as well as to be actively engaged in the production process, it states.

The following are contract services offered from Southern:

  • Distillation and Bulk Spirits Production – 18-inch diameter, 40-foot tall copper and steel continuous column still from Vendome Copper & Brass Works, with annual production capacity of 500,000 proof gallons; integrated fermentation and distillation control systems; ample bulk grain storage facility; grain production contracts; on-site milling; 5,000-gallon jacketed stainless steel fermentation tanks; 2,50- gallon stainless steel mash cooker; dedicated small-batch copper and stainless steel pot still system; first-class quality control and assurance procedures, it says.
  • Private Label Production and Co-Packaging – Blending and batching barrel-aged and unaged spirits of any type; a bottling line that can fill and label a variety of bottle shapes and sizes; easy access finished goods warehousing, it adds.
  • Bonded Warehouse Barrel Storage & Barrel Brokering – A high-bay with full sprinkler coverage, bonded-barrel storage warehouse; and new and used barrels available for purchase and/or filling, the company says.

Pete and Vienna Barger founded Southern Distilling as a way to tap into the authenticity of home and heritage and revive the legacy of the region’s deep distilling roots, the company states.

“Few people know about the rich history of whiskey distilling that dominated North Carolina in the 18th and 19th centuries with this region being one of the largest liquor production hubs in the country at the time,” Vienna Barger, co-owner and principal for Southern Distilling, stated. “With Southern Distilling Co., we are setting a new standard and leading the revitalization of whiskey distillation in North Carolina, the original birthplace of bourbon in the U.S. Our mission is to provide the highest quality distilled spirits available to both the local region and other discerning customers worldwide.”