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.
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!
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!
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.
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 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.
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
