Burnt Church Distillery in Bluffton opens this weekend. Here’s when you can grab a drink
The long-awaited Burnt Church Distillery in Bluffton will start slinging drinks and serving up history lessons about the town Friday.
A grand-opening celebration kicks off Friday and continues through Saturday. S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and other state and local lawmakers are expected to be there.
The event will start with a ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m., followed by tours and drinks from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The latter will require signing up for a specific time slot to attend for $10 a person.
Anticipation for the opening of the distillery, which will serve craft whiskey made on site, along with other spirits such as gin, vodka, moonshine, and a non-alcoholic option, has been high since rumblings of plans first started circulating in 2018.
The facility at 120 Bluffton Road will have four buildings: a 7,000-square-foot tasting room, a fast-casual Pizza Co. restaurant, a manufacturing building and a rick house where whiskey barrels are stored.
The distillery will be “entrenched in historical components,” Billy Watterson, who co-founded the business with his brother Sean Watterson, previously told The Island Packet.
The brothers hired historian Melanie Marks to tie in the history of Burnt Church Road and Bluffton and showcase it in the distillery’s museum.
Watterson said they’ve solved the historical mystery of how Burnt Church Road got its name, but they aren’t planning to share the answer until the 20,000-square-foot distillery opens to the public.
According to the distillery’s website, the Wattersons hope it becomes the “Spirit of the Lowcountry” as “a historical and educational communal destination for locals and tourists alike.”
