Feeding the bourbon boom, downtown Durham gets a top NC distillery
Weldon Mills, a Weldon-based distillery specializing in small-batch North Carolina bourbon, is opening a Durham craft cocktail lounge this spring.
The original distillery, located about an hour-and-a-half northeast of Raleigh, makes bourbon, whiskey, vodka, gin and other flavored liquors. The Durham lounge will feature craft cocktails made with those spirits.
“This is an extension of the distillery, so we won’t be running the big cookers and fermentation tanks in Durham,” said Darryl Russell, general manager of the new Durham cocktail bar. “We’ll still be doing some aging in barrels — that’s what we’re known for.”
Cocktails and retail bottles
Customers can find bottles of Weldon Mills’ bourbon, whiskey, gin and other spirits on the shelves of ABC stores throughout North Carolina.
The new downtown Durham cocktail bar will also allow patrons to go home with a bottle or two of their favorite stuff — something Weldon Mills likes to brag about.
“What makes us different from any other bar is since we’re under our distillery license, we can sell bottles retail.” Russell said.
Weldon Mills Distillery opening date
Weldon Mills’ Durham location will be opening in the next few weeks to sell retail bottles, though the cocktail bar won’t be up and running yet. That’s expected to open in March, but there isn’t a hard date on the calendar, Russell said.
To keep up with Weldon Mills Distillery and their forthcoming Durham location, visit their Instagram page at @weldon.mills.
Weldon Mills, a veteran-owned distillery, was awarded “Best Whiskey Micro Distillery” and “Best Cask Strength Bourbon” at the 2021 International Whiskey Competition.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 3:26 PM.
