Spirits in Solitary Confinement: What to Expect When Touring Whiskey Prison

Located in Mount Pleasant, NC, Southern Grace Distilleries offers some of the most unique distillery tours around. Experiences like the “After Dark” tour take visitors on a journey through time inside a former North Carolina prison which operated from 1929 to 2011. Whether you’re a whiskey aficionado, history buff or thrill seeker, you’ve got to add Southern Grace Distilleries to your bucket list.

We recently took their Behind Bars Whiskey Prison Tour, offered at $14 per person on their website. Here’s what to expect if you decide to visit the #WhiskeyPrison during your next trip to Cabarrus County.

Our tour started in a small chapel located on the prison grounds. There, we sat in polished pews and watched a short video that detailed the history of the facility and Southern Grace. The background helped us understand and get excited for what was next. Did you know that Southern Grace Distilleries is the first distillery in the United States to be located in a former prison? You won’t find this experience anywhere else.

After, our group had mug shots taken behind prison bars where we each got to fill in our own silly crimes for the booking photo, like singing too much Beyoncé!

Next was a tour of the old prison grounds. The old gym, basketball court, and even the hot box, a method of solitary confinement used in the Southern US. If you’re daring enough, visitors are allowed to take a look inside where former prisoners were punished under the scorching Carolina sun.

From there, the tour took us inside the prison for a behind-the-scenes look at how the whiskey and bourbon are made. We even got to chat with one of their distillers who was working on the next batch.

The tour ended with a whiskey tasting in America’s only solitary confinement tasting bar. Visitors are given a taste of both Sun Dog 130 Small Batch White Whiskey and Sun Dog Pink Lemonade, a 45 proof corn whiskey mixed with fruit juice. Sun Dog 130 has won five medals, including Gold at both the San Diego Spirits Competition and Fifty Best American Whiskeys Competition, and Silver in Louisville, KY at the American Craft Spirits Competition.

So, if you’re looking to add a little excitement to your next craft beverage experience, Whiskey Prison is the way to go!

For more information, visit SouthernGraceDistilleries.com.