ROCK HILL, S.C. — Sleeping Giant, York County's first legal distillery since prohibition is set to open in Rock Hill by the end of 2021.
Sleeping Giant was founded by brothers William and Patrick Bradner, and will be on Southern Street in downtown Rock Hill.
“We’re standing in the production room, this is where all the magic happens," William Bradner said. "We make the rum, we ferment it, we do everything ourselves."
The location was first known as a cotton grading building in the early 1900s. Now, the 1,200 square foot space has transformed into a fully functioning distillery that’s set to open for educational tours and tasting experiences.
“We kind of want to make a well-rounded experience so that we can educate some people, that people still have fun and get to taste the alcohol which is always fun," Bradner said.
The brothers plan to open the distillery by the end of December with two premium handcrafted rums.
A silver rum as well as a semi-sweet coffee rum and a sweet lemongrass and vanilla rum.
“I like the plain rum myself," William Bradner said. "The lemongrass vanilla is good, it's just like a cordial to sip on. It's great."
Patrick Bradner said he prefers the coffee. The new distillery plans have been less than 10 years in the making. In the near future, the brothers' goal is to produce a wide variety of premium handcrafted rum in small batches.
“So a lot of rum places will make it from molasses, which is like a by-product of making sugar," William said. "We make our rum from panela, so it retains a lot more of the sugar cane, earthy, grassy flavor, so it's a little more complex. This is not a heavy rum at all."
Most importantly, the brothers want to build a new community surrounding the distillery. A community they say will toast to making new history.
The distillery will only be open on Fridays and Saturdays for tours and tastings. Advanced bookings will be required in order to visit.
Contact Ruby Durham at rdurham@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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