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December 5, 2019 by Ron Wen

Overview: Starrlight Mead and Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro

Entry to the Plant in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Entry to the Plant in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com

While the Triangle continues to grow in popularity and population, interesting food and beverage type businesses are putting down stakes in a variety of interesting locations. Giving zoning restrictions, you’ll usually find breweries and distilleries in odd pockets around our major cities and off the beaten path. One spot that’s worth visiting is The Plant out in Pittsboro! Self-described as an eco-industrial park and in the Chatham Beverage District, The Plant offers up some interesting places to visit for a fun weekend: Fair Game Beverage and Starrlight Mead amongst several business options.

Front of Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Front of Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com
Tasting area at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Tasting area at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com

First up is the classic, Fair Game Beverage! This distillery offers up a short factory tour showing off its distilling operations, it’s a pretty quick visit. There’s a couple of distilling machines, aging room and shipping-packing room since Fair Game Beverage is a smaller, local spirits producer. They also do gift boxes which might be perfect for your favorite person this holiday season!

Gift boxes at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Gift boxes at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com
Tour of distillery at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Tour of distillery at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com
Barrel aging at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Barrel aging at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com

But what’s more fun is the tasting bar up front! Cozy and small, you’ll get to sample a variety of their liquors which is a BIT different then sampling beer or wine. Fair Game produces bottles like Flying Pepper vodka, apple brandy, No’lasses rum and more so you’ll have to drink and sip it slowly. Grab a couple of bottles on the way out to mix up some cocktails at home, Fair Game makes some good booze!

Bottles at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Bottles at Fair Game Beverage in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com
Front of Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Front of Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com

After you’re done at Fair Game, head on over to Starrlight Mead which sits in a house at the front of the Plant’s entrance. If feels like a little cottage in the woods but it’s actually anything but that.

Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com

Inside Starrlight Mead you’ll find a large, open space with high ceilings showing of a mix of rustic and modern. Apparently they use this space for events in addition to a tasting room. Several retail areas are scattered throughout the large space where you can peruse and pick up a delicious bottle of mead. The tasting bar sits to the far right where you can sample 8 meads with souvenir glass for $10 which is a lot of fun. As a honey wine, mead is a lot easier on the throat compared to the liquors at Fair Game Beverage which makes for easier dranking!

Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com

Starrlight Mead makes their mead in bulk and then creates separate varieties by flavoring the mead with herbs, fruit and whatever else fancies the meadmaker! And they are all quite delicious and easy to drink but I’m sure you’ll have a favorite flavor and bottle to bring home. It’s all a very leisurely experience and worth the trip out here.

Tasting glass at Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro - nctriangledining.com
Tasting glass at Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro – nctriangledining.com

After a visit to Fair Game Beverage and Starrlight Mead, you might want to consider Postal Fish Company or Capps Pizzeria which offer up great seafood and pizza. Over the past two years, I’ve been spending more time out this way which is super interesting. Pittsboro and S. Chapel Hill are both starting to develop and new, cool businesses are popping up including Fair Game Beverage and Starrlight Mead.  Which give you just another fun spot to explore in the Triangle, enjoy!

 

Fair Game Beverage and Starrlight Mead

192 and 130 Lorax Lane

Pittsboro, NC

 

Location on Google maps

Filed Under: Overviews, Pittsboro Tagged With: distillery, wine

October 4, 2015 by Ron Wen Leave a Comment

Media Event: Durham Distillery VIP and Grand Opening Celebration

 

Signage at the Durham Distillery - NC Triangle Dining
Signage at the Durham Distillery – NC Triangle Dining

When it comes to cocktails, I’d have to say the classic gin & tonic is my favorite. Better suited for warmer temps, the aromatics and flavors behind gin is not for everybody but I really enjoy it! So I was excited to hear that the newest distillery in town, Durham Distillery, would have gin as their signature product: Conniption Gin…

Tasting bar at the Durham Distillery - NC Triangle Dining
Tasting bar at the Durham Distillery – NC Triangle Dining

It was a wet and drizzly evening for Durham Distillery’s VIP event and I was an early arrival. Thankfully, inside Durham Distillery’s small space, it’s warm and inviting! A mix of modern and retro, it gives me a modern speak-easy feel with fabric lamps overhead. They’ve got a tasting for their two primary Conniption gins: American Dry and Navy along with some of their liqueurs! Jazz music is lightly pumping out of the speakers overhead, adding to the ambiance. I’m waiting on some people so I head on back to the distilling area.

Distilling equipment at the Durham Distillery - NC Triangle Dining
Distilling equipment at the Durham Distillery – NC Triangle Dining

In back they’ve got two primary pieces of equipment which I don’t know the names of! One is a traditional copper-metal contraption that’s used to do the primary distilling and imported from Germany (12+ month lead-time) while the second is a more modern cold infuser that’s used to create flavor without any damaging heat in their product.

Beautiful distilling equipment at the Durham Distillery - NC Triangle Dining
Beautiful distilling equipment at the Durham Distillery – NC Triangle Dining

I meet up with the two owners of Durham Distillery, Melissa and Lee Katrincic who come from backgrounds helpful for starting up a distillery: marketing and chemistry! Very nice folks who have some help from other local Durham businesses today for their grand opening. As the night continues on, I sample some great crostini (Toast) and some delicious cupcakes (Cupcake Bar) during their party.

Tasting in action at the Durham Distillery - NC Triangle Dining
Tasting in action at the Durham Distillery – NC Triangle Dining

Back at the bar I sample both of their Conniption gins straight and they are very light and refreshing. The expectation is that a high quality gin can be drunken neat rather than automatically mixed. The American Dry is very light and florally while the Navy has a bit more depth and alcoholic punch to stand up to mixers. I love the bottle design, a great art-deco feel in homage to the roaring 20’s and speak-easy days.

Bottles on display at the Durham Distillery - NC Triangle Dining
Bottles on display at the Durham Distillery – NC Triangle Dining
Botanicals display at the Durham Distillery - NC Triangle Dining
Botanicals display at the Durham Distillery – NC Triangle Dining

My friends show up and we move on to the liquers: coffee, mocha and chocolate. The coffee liquor is infused with Slingshot cold brew but I admit to loving the chocolate liqueur. Super-creamy and luscious with great mouth feel, you could make a dessert out of this drink. And the timing is perfect for Durham Distillery! A recent change in liquor legislation now allows distilleries to sell directly, one bottle per year to a customer. But the majority of Durham Distillery sales should be going through your local ABC store. So if you’re a fan of gin or flavored liqueurs definitely stop on by for a visit at Durham Distillery. They’ll be doing tours Thursdays through Saturday in the early evening. For $10 you’ll get a tasting flight and souvenir shot glass, nice! They are distilling some great gin here at Durham Distillery and it’s definitely worth a quick visit…

 

Durham Distillery

711 Washington Street

Durham, NC 27701

919.937.2121

Location on Google maps

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Filed Under: Durham, Media, Restaurant & Bar Reviews Tagged With: distillery

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