The history of distilled spirits in Tennessee is a long one. For well over a century, moonshiners have been making the good stuff in the hills, dodging the long arm of the law, and passing their recipes down through the generations. Building on that heritage, today’s Nashville distilleries come in all shapes and sizes.
Some distilleries in Nashville thrive on innovation, making uncommon flavors and blends to keep customers coming back. Others draw on proven family recipes and strong Tennessee pride to make the best whiskey (and more) this part of the South has ever seen. Either way, there are a lot of great spirits to try and fun distilleries to visit on a trip to Nashville. These are some of our favorites.
Corsair Distillery
Corsair Distillery is always pushing the envelope in craft spirits. Founded by childhood friends Darek Bell and Andrew Webber, the distillery has grown tremendously over the last 15 years, and we’re always happy when we see their whiskey on the shelf across the US and abroad.
Corsair offers multiple types of whiskey, gin, and vanilla bean vodka as well as more adventurous products like red absinthe. Known for experimentation and crafting a damn fine cocktail, Corsair Distillery’s award-winning products are available at their two Nashville distilleries and around the US. A tour here is a fun date night idea. See their website for information or just stop in for a sip.
Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery
History is at the heart of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery in Nashville. Brothers Andy and Charlie Nelson have resurrected the family whiskey business that was run by their great-great-great grandfather Charles Nelson before the days of Prohibition. In the late 1880s, Nelson’s whiskey was even more popular than Jack Daniel’s, making it the top-selling Tennessee whiskey in the world.
One hundred years after the first Nelson distillery closed, Andy and Charlie re-formed the family business based on the original recipes that made it so popular. Now, the Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery line includes whiskeys, bourbons, and sherries – a few named after Nashville’s famous Belle Meade plantation – plus a coffee caramel pecan liqueur.
Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery offers tours and tastings at their warehouse and distillery on Clinton Street where you can even see some of the original bottles from the 1880s.
Ole Smoky
Ole Smoky Distillery isn’t just a distillery—it’s an experience. The location at 6th & Peabody is 30,000 square feet, including Ole Smoky and Yee-Haw Brewing Co. in addition to a taco shop and a gourmet hot dog stand. With live music, indoor and outdoor spaces, and sports on the giant movie screen, you could practically spend all day here.
Drawing on the heritage of the moonshiners in the Smoky Mountains, Ole Smoky makes a cornucopia of over 40 types of brightly-colored moonshine and flavored whiskeys from a 100-year-old recipe. I opted for the full tasting, which included 10 moonshines (one was a surprisingly good moonshine-soaked pickle) and flavored whiskeys along with a Yee Haw beer. Although it sounds like a huge amount of alcohol, the tastings are 1-2 sips each, so it’s not over-the-top.
Ole Smoky is a place for
people who are looking for a casual, fun time. Don’t expect to discuss mash
bills, angel’s share, or how long a product is aged. Just lean in and try the apple pie moonshine (there’s a reason it’s the most popular) or the salty caramel whiskey. Many flavors are also available in cocktails at the bar.
Pennington Distilling Co.
Located in Nashville’s Nations neighborhood, Pennington Distilling Co. is a grain-to-glass distillery making aged and clear spirits along with other products.
We loved their Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey, which is aged a minimum of four years. It’s the first locally distilled small batch Tennessee whiskey since Prohibition, a point of pride in a town that takes its whiskey very seriously. Try it alongside their flagship brand, Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream, a cream liqueur that combines the characteristics of whiskey with caramel and pecan favors. Think Bailey’s meets Jack Daniel’s.
Pennington also produces two vodka lines—Pickers Vodka and Walton’s Vodka. Pickers is distilled 11 times and comes in original and several flavors infused with actual fruit. Walton’s Finest Vodka is made with 100% Tennessee red winter wheat and cut with Tennessee limestone water.
Tours and tastings at Pennington Distilling Co. are offered every day except Monday.
Nashville Craft Distillery
Nashville Craft Distillery is a laid-back place to sample some familiar spirits and try a few you may not have had before. If you take a tour, have a tasting, or stop in for a cocktail, the staff will tell you everything you want to know about the products, which is great for people like me who want to know all the details.
Everything at Nashville Craft Distillery is made from scratch. Whether they’re made from sorghum, honey, or grain, the small-batch spirits all start in-house with a focus on local and regional ingredients.
Naked Biscuit and Golden Biscuit (the barrel-aged version of Naked) are smooth sorghum spirits that you can try straight or in a cocktail. The gin and whiskey offerings are also excellent. My favorite product was the spiced honey liqueur, which tastes just like it sounds with a hint of sweetness and the flavors of fall.
Leiper’s Fork Distillery
A visit to Leiper’s Fork feels like a step back in time to the late 1800s—1897, to be specific. That’s when the Bottled-in-Bond Act was passed, which set strict standards that assured consumers that their whiskey was pure. Leiper’s Fork’s Bottled in Bond products are handmade and small batch, which is a badge of honor for them. They even use corn grown on the owner’s farm.
A tour of their facility in Franklin takes visitors through the production and unique process. You also get to see their 500-gallon, custom-built Scottish pot still. The highlight of the tour is the tasting that takes place in a 200-year-old cabin (can you tell history and authenticity are themes here?) We tried three types—bourbon, rye, and Tennessee whiskey. Leiper’s Fork uses a sweet mash fermentation process that imparts a mellow character, which is evident in the tasting.
Check out their special events that range from wine pairing dinners and concerts to cigar nights and haunted tours.
Jack Daniel’s Distillery
If you’re looking to venture a little farther, Lynchburg, Tennessee, is only about 90 minutes from Nashville. This tiny, dry town is the home of the top-selling American whiskey in the world—Jack Daniel’s. Every year, Lynchburg attracts over 300,000 visitors looking to see how Tennessee whiskey is made, making the distillery one of the top attractions in Tennessee.
At the Jack Daniel’s distillery, visitors can see how craftsmanship and attention to detail have built a fine brand and drinks that people around the world swear by. A distillery tour here is also a walk through the 158-year history of Jack Daniel—the man and his eponymous products.
On a tour, you’ll see the grain, the distillation process, and the 10-foot-tall stacks of sugar maple charcoal that help set Jack Daniel’s apart. All this is before the white whiskey gets its color and flavor from handcrafted toasted oak barrels built on-site.
There are several different tour options, and we chose the one that includes a tasting of the five core Jack Daniel’s products, including the Tennessee Whiskey, Tennessee Honey, and Gentleman Jack. It’s an informative and entertaining tour even if you’re not a big whiskey drinker–we both came away as fans.
Cascade Hollow Distilling Co.
Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. is probably more familiar to most people as the makers of George Dickel Tennessee Whisky. Despite the enormous popularity of their products, a visit here doesn’t feel like a visit to a large corporation. Instead, it feels like a country cabin in the Tennessee hills. There is no cell reception or traffic—just great whiskey.
Just over an hour from Nashville, a tour at Cascade Hollow traces the story of George Dickel, a German immigrant who became a successful merchant and ultimately one of the top whiskey makers in the US. You’ll learn how his wife Augusta helped the company prosper after George died and the unique way it kept going despite Prohibition.
Cascade Hollow prides itself on its products that are “handmade the hard way”—filtered with sugar maple charcoal that is burned and transported by hand in the hollow. You’ll learn about the process and see the fermentation and distilling as it happens at one of the top distilleries in Tennessee.
The hour-long tour ends with a tasting of four whiskies ranging from George Dickel No. 1—an unaged white corn whisky—to their high-end George Dickel Barrel Select, which is aged for at least 10 years. If you’re feeling brave, you can also try the variety aged in Tabasco barrels for a bit of a kick.
We were the guests of Jack Daniel’s. All opinions of the flavorful and barrel-aged are our own.
Laura Longwell is an award-winning travel blogger and photographer. Since founding Travel Addicts in 2008, she has written hundreds of articles that help over 3 million people a year get the most out of their travel. In that time, she has visited nearly 60 countries on 5 continents, often returning to favorite destinations over and over again. She has a deep love of history, uncovering unexpected attractions, and trying all the good food a place has to offer.
In addition to Travel Addicts, Laura runs a site about her hometown of Philadelphia—Guide to Philly—which chronicles unique things to do and places to see around southeastern Pennsylvania. Her travel tips and advice appear across the web.
