About Moonrise Distillery
Moonrise Distillery, located in Clayton, Georgia opened in 2012. However, since bourbon takes a lot of time to age, they did not allow customers on the property until 2017. When you cross the gates, you go back to the 1850’s, when the best bourbon in the US was made.
Their goal is to make top-quality products, but also offer them up to 50% less than a lot of the mass-marketed, mass-produced products out on the market today.
The family-owned and operated distillery is a three-generation operation. Doug’s son CJ is the Assistant Head Distiller and wife Jennifer runs the front office and speakeasy bar. Mom, otherwise known as Nana, also helps on weekends.
Artisan Crafted Spirits
Whiskey and bourbon
Moonrise has three different bourbons and a rye whiskey. Their bourbon is currently rated 96th nationally, while the rye whiskey is rated 13th in the country. Both are 1st in their categories in the state of Georgia.
Guests can taste across 3 different product categories including 86, 90 and 120 proof bourbon whiskeys.
Moonrise has the only 4 grain wheat and rye whiskey on the market. They are very proud of the fact that they use all 4 major grains to create one of the smoothest rye whiskeys sold today.
One of their biggest sellers is their bourbon snow cream. It is an all-natural, fresh bourbon cream. They use Madagascar vanilla that they hand scrape and 90 proof bourbon. This allows for a vanilla taste upfront, a little bourbon in the middle and finishes off with the snow cream flavor Doug enjoyed as a child.
Other spirits
The vodka made at Moonrise is a Russian style sipping vodka. Their unique vodka was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2019 Georgia Trustees Wine and Spirits Competition. The annual event celebrates the top producers of wine and spirits across Georgia.
The gin is a botanical gin made with culinary lavender sourced from a local Dahlonega, Georgia farm. They also add citrus to the gin with their use of ruby red grapefruit peels, while cardamom and coriander give the gin a little bit of spice.
The new specialty spirit of the year is Nana’s Limoncello. This three-generation Italian family recipe has been around for years. Instead of sugar, they use local raw honey from Blue Ridge Honey Company.
Moonrise’s cognac and mountain style brandies are produced from fruit grown locally and sweetened with local honey. They produce both "mountain style" fruit forward brandy and "cognac style" cordial profile brandies to appeal to the diverse pallets of their customers.
Also available are ready-to-drink craft cocktails including Margarita, Bloody Mary, Rye Whiskey Tea and Bourbon Lemonade. Because they use all natural ingredients, they do not have to filter or carbonate these specialty cocktails.
Moonrise Distillery Expansion
When Moonrise first opened, they served roughly 30 people a month. They currently serve 8,000 a month, which triggered their latest expansion. Doug and the team had a vision on how they wanted to expand once they saw such growth in business.
They expanded the original building to include a large but intimate speakeasy bar. They also enhanced the shopping and tasting experience by updating the display and tasting areas.
Doug wanted the property to look like it was an old mountain cabin that had been there for many years, and then someone turned it into a speakeasy bar.
During the pandemic it became very difficult to get some of these projects done quickly. Their goal was to have the renovation done in seven to eight weeks.
With a tight timeframe, Doug selected ACityDiscount to lay out his vision. The Design Department at ACityDiscount created CAD drawings to show Doug and his team what would fit and how to layout the bar design for maximum utility and convenience while in operation. The CAD drawings and systems allowed Doug to look at a drawing and perform a “day in the life” of the bar operations. They were able to figure out where to put openings, where to put the dump sink, refrigeration, glassware and so on.
To outfit the bar and lounge area, Doug purchased tables and chairs, dish machines, beer coolers and much more from ACityDiscount.
Things to do at Moonrise Distillery
Tour and Tasting
Sample any of their 20 award winning craft spirits and ready to drink cocktails on the tour tastings from 12 pm – 1:30 pm every day except for Wednesdays and Sundays. Reservations are recommended and can be done online. During the tour, guests get to sample most of the craft cocktails and spirits Moonrise offers, while also learning how they make those products.
Band and Event Facility
Enjoy live music Sundays from 2 pm – 5 pm and other special events. Relax and enjoy the sounds of live music in the North Georgia mountains while sipping on their craft cocktails and award-winning spirits.
Hold your special event at the distillery in their two-building barrel house. They offer facilities for parties of up to 100 guests and have accommodations for private food trucks and caterers.
For more info on Moonrise Distillery please visit their website, moonrisedistillery.com
Enjoyed this highlight? Click here to stay up to date on blogs, articles and receive exclusive sales and promotions.
Ready to drink craft cocktails
Moonrise Retail Shop
Tour and Tasting Experience
The Front Porch at Moonrise