The team at Southern Grace Distilleries in Mount Pleasant had a choice: wait for their signature square bottles to come back in stock and risk several months without revenue, or look for an alternative. So co-founder Thomas Thacker picked up the phone and began making cold calls to bottle suppliers, seeking someone who could provide bottles that could fit Conviction Single Barrel Straight Bourbon Whiskey’s labels and in time for the distillery’s release of the four-year-old expression. Thacker found a business in Canada that could provide rounded bottles, and decided bottling in a different bottle was better than not bottling at all.

“We have bottling volunteers who come in, and they bottled over 3,000 bottles in March,” Thacker says. “So we are back to bottling and shipping and our four-year has been released to rave reviews. We landed on our feet in the short term, but this is a problem that’s going to be around for another year or a year-and-a-half.”

When the shutdown hit, the alcohol industry was hit in two revenue streams. At places like Southern Grace, which was built in an old prison with tourism high in mind, a stop to guests meant a stop to that revenue. Simultaneously, restaurants were closing their dining rooms, shutting off sales to restaurants and bars. Craft distillers were left with only liquor stores as an outlet for revenue, and though sales there increased, Thacker says most shoppers sought more affordable name brands. Small producers saw little of that bump.

Thanks to continuing pandemic hurdles, not even the resurgence of indoor dining brought the relief distillers sought.

“About the time all the mixed beverage outlets were getting back in business, the supply chain collapsed, and we didn’t have any glass in the building,” Thacker says. “And we’re not the only one — it’s common to the industry. There was a lot of lost opportunity because we just didn’t have bottles to put anything in.”

With determination, Southern Grace was able to release its four-year aged Conviction Bourbon close to schedule. Going forward, Thacker is looking at purchasing products such as packaging in bulk and finding a way to store the items to prevent supply issues from slowing down production. The distillery’s tourism revenue is returning, too — in force, thanks to how people are spending their leisure time post-pandemic. Thacker says people are planning excursions that are more home-centric than they used to be, bringing more customers through their doors.

“The experience economy, the day trip economy, the tour tastings, find a nice restaurant and sit down and be back home in three or four hours seems to really be where a lot of the regional energy is focused,” Thacker says, “and they’re coming and spending their afternoons with us, and we’re glad for that.”

This summer, in addition to continuing its cask-finished series of bourbon finished in barrels that previously held other spirits like cognac, naranja, or amarone, Southern Grace will release a Founder’s Reserve, a high-proof offering of Conviction. 

Find four-year Conviction at the distillery, or using MeckABC’s online product search.

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