GREENVILLE — As most things do in Lisa Messenger and Todd Harbin’s lives, their idea to open a distillery began with a plan. Not just an idea, but with a well-vetted, risk assessed, step-by-step plan.
What else could one expect of two longtime product test engineers?
But unlike their other business ventures, New South Spirits is also a creative outlet — an antidote to the rote day-to-day of assessing maximum loads, burn safety and best practices.
Messenger and Harbin along with managing partner T.C. Beinke, will open New South Spirits later this month in a historic space in the heart of the West End.
It will be the first distillery in Greenville city limits.
The distillery and tasting room at 1 Augusta St. will be on the first floor of the beneath what was Smoke on the Water in the historic building that also houses The Velo Fellow, Mellow Mushroom and the forthcoming Nic and Norman’s.
New South Spirits will focus on small-batch, additive-free, artisan rums, agave spirits and creams, all of which will be available sampling and for purchase on site.
New South Spirits is the brainchild of co-owners T.C. Beinke, Lisa Messenger and Todd Harbin.
The tasting room, which boasts a sizeable bar, tables and artwork all made by the team of owners, will also feature a cocktail program designed to showcase the depth and scope of each spirit. The three have considered and designed every aspect of the distillery from the artwork that hangs on the walls to the tornado that is part of the logo to the custom temperature controls for the stills.
“We have all focused on putting ourselves into this as much as possible,” Harbin said.
Bourbon lover
In truth, Harbin is a bourbon drinker. But that’s why he couldn’t make it. He’d be too picky, less open to embracing the process of creation.
Messenger has always liked rum, and so they started there. But then in doing their due diligence, they found tequila a growing market, so they decided to explore agave spirits, too.
While distilling is a creative outlet for the team, it is also highly technical. Harbin loves the technicality.
New South Spirits will specialize in craft, additive-free small batch spirits. Plans call for adding more aged varieties and dabbling in brandy and vodka in the future.
“Oh, if you wanna get in the weeds we’ll go there,” he said with a grin. “We can talk about how the sulfites move through the atomic structure.”
The process of distilling suits Harbin, who has worked in product test engineering for close to three decades. To that end, he started with doing extensive research.
From there, Harbin developed his own process for distillation. Instead of one big still, New South uses four smaller ones, which allows them to produce different spirits, at the same time.
Harbin also built his own operations control, allowing him to better regulate the temperature, which is an integral part of distilling.
Thus far, New South features nine different spirits, though plans call for adding some aged varieties within the next couple of years.
For now, the distillery features a distilling area as well as a tasting room. The latter place features a comfortable spot to try the spirits as-is or in a variety of creative cocktails all curated by Beinke.
Look for plays on classics like a take on an old fashioned, a rum punch, a margarita, along with a spicy margarita that uses New South Agave Reaper that is infused with Carolina Reaper peppers.
Plans call for changing the menu seasonally and featuring special weekly.
The tasting room does not sell food, which inhibits its hours. Essentially, as Messenger explains it, they have to follow the same laws as ABC stores. This means they won’t be open past 7 p.m. or on Sundays.
But New South is still game to providing visitors an experience. They will offer tours and tastings along with ideas for special events.
Plans also call for eventually moving into the retail and restaurant and bar market through distribution, but the team is taking the process one step at a time.
Seasoned entrepreneurs
Harbin and Messenger have known and worked with each other so long that they can read one another without talking. That’s why when Harbin approached his friend and business partner 2½ years ago about needing to do something new, she knew it was time to start a new business.
The two have a history.
Messenger started her own product-testing company over 20 years ago. Harbin came on as a specialist in the automotive industry, and eventually the two merged operations to became co-owners.
They sold the company but continued to work there.
Beinke came on board in 2017.
The engineers love their field, but the everyday routine was growing old.
“The first time we blew up an airbag it was a lot of fun, but after you’ve blown up 10,000 airbags, it’s just another boom,” Messenger said. “Flammability tests, first time we set something on fire, it was pretty fun but now...”
After they had the idea, they had to do a risk assessment and feasibility study. The three spent about six months visiting distilleries around the state. They watched the traffic patterns, studied pricing, took note of products available and popularity.
They came away with a plan for a successful distillery but knew without serving food they needed more foot traffic.
That’s how they landed on the downtown location.
Thus far, guests will find a line of Bedlam rums, Ghost cream rums and Apocalipses agave spirits.
The logo of a tornado funnel and the catch phrase “embrace the chaos” seem fitting to a degree, because while the three partners for sure move quickly and here and there, they are doing so within their very controlled, considered and tested plan.
New South Spirits’ tagline is “embrace your inner chaos,” a nod to the owners’ own collective organized chaos.
New South Spirits is slated to open April 20 at 1 Augusta St., Suite 102.
The distillery will feature a line of rums, including spiced and aged varieties, cream rums and a variety of 100 percent blue agave and mixtos agave spirits.
For more, follow @newsouthspiritsgvl on social media and visit https://newsouthspirits.com.
