Southern Distilling Company

What Southern Distilling Company does

Southern Distilling Company is a privately-held craft distillery headquartered in Statesville, North Carolina, founded in 2013. The company produces a portfolio of whiskeys under its own brand and provides contract distilling services to other spirits producers, operating a dual-revenue model that combines proprietary branded goods with toll/bottling services for third-party clients. Its operations sit within the US craft spirits segment, where regulatory compliance with federal (TTB) and state alcohol control regimes is required for production, distribution, and direct-to-consumer sales.

The firm employs between 11 and 50 people and is led operationally by co-founder and chief operating officer Vienna Barger. There is no public disclosure of external funding, M&A activity, subsidiary structure, or parent ownership, indicating a bootstrap-oriented ownership posture. The website (southerndistillingcompany.com) was not scrapeable for substantive product, pricing, or distribution detail in the source data, limiting further technical or commercial granularity. No technology stack, proprietary software, certifications, patents, partnerships, or named customer relationships are documented in the available material.

Revenue mechanics appear to derive from two streams: (1) wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales of own-label whiskey aged and bottled on-site, and (2) fee-based contract distilling where the facility's capacity is used to produce spirits for other brands. Pricing, distribution footprint, customer mix, and channel strategy are not disclosed in the source. The profile is consistent with a small-to-mid-size craft producer whose strategic optionality is tied to aged inventory value, brand development, and capacity utilization rather than technology or AI differentiation.

Name

Southern Distilling Company

Website

https://southerndistillingcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Southern Distilling Company is a Statesville, North Carolina-based craft distillery, founded in 2013, that produces a portfolio of whiskeys and offers contract distilling services to other spirits brands. It serves both end consumers via own-label distribution and partner brands via toll production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Spirits Distilling

NAICS

Distilleries (312140)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Distilled Spirits Production & Distilling (AFAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Spirits Distilling & Brands (CRADAIAC), Distilleries (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAG), Alcoholic Beverage Blending, Bottling & Private Label (Non-Distilling) (AFAFAAAH)

Keywords

• Craft whiskey production
• Contract distilling services
• Small batch bourbon
• Whiskey distillery
• Wine and spirits manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Statesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Core offering

Southern Distilling Company is a distillery that produces a wide range of whiskeys and offers contract distilling services to other brands. The company manufactures and sells its own whiskey products while also providing distilling capacity and services on a contract basis for wine-making and spirits production clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Whiskey Product Line

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Bardstown Bourbon Company: Kentucky-based craft distillery that produces its own bourbon/whiskey lines while operating one of the largest contract distilling businesses in the U.S. Closely mirrors Southern Distilling's dual brand-and-service model.
• Wilderness Trail Distillery: Kentucky craft distillery offering both branded bourbon/rye whiskeys and contract distillation services. Highly comparable business model with a similar dual-revenue structure.
• Castle & Key Distillery: Kentucky craft distillery combining whiskey production with a destination tourism/tasting experience. Comparable as a craft whiskey producer investing in DTC and on-premise experience.
• Koval Distillery: Chicago-based craft distillery producing whiskeys and other spirits with a focus on organic grains. Comparable as an independently operated craft spirits producer with a diversified product line.
• Corsair Distillery: Nashville-based craft distillery producing whiskeys, gins, and other spirits with a focus on experimental grain bills. Comparable as a craft multi-spirits producer.
• Balcones Distilling: Texas-based craft distillery producing distinctive whiskeys from alternative grains. Comparable as a craft producer building brand recognition outside traditional whiskey regions.
• New Riff Distilling: Northern Kentucky craft distillery producing a range of whiskeys with an aging-forward production model. Comparable as a craft multi-whiskey producer operating outside the legacy bourbon power centers.
• Smooth Ambler Spirits: West Virginia craft distillery producing a portfolio of whiskeys including sourced and in-house expressions. Comparable as a small-to-mid scale craft whiskey producer.
• Catoctin Creek Distilling: Virginia craft distillery producing rye whiskey and other spirits. Comparable as a smaller-scale craft whiskey producer operating outside Kentucky/Tennessee.

Broad incumbents

• MGP Ingredients: Large-scale distilled spirits and ingredient supplier historically dominant in contract whiskey and rye production. Comparable as a major contract distillation counterparty for craft brands.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sodistilling
• Facebookfacebook.com/southerndistilling

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Distilling Company