Sugarlands Distilling Company — Attraction in Gatlinburg

Read this post in its entirety

My initial experience at this distillery was awesome. The tasting was a lot of fun and the bartender was very engaged. After the tasting I decided to purchase a bottle for myself! That is where the experienced went awry.

I went to the check out counter. You are given a wristband to show you paid for the tasting. It also gives you five dollars off anything in the store.

So I brought my items up to the counter where I was greeted by Mary. I placed my items on the counter, and she asked me to present my wristband. I did so, she grabbed her scissors to cut the band. And as carelessly as ever cut my wristband to include my wristband that was adjacent to the wristband…

I didn’t feel it and she presented me the cut wristband, and stated “ugh I hate when they put the wristband close to personal bands”. “Sorry bout that, you heat up each end with a lighter to fix it”…

She immediately went to how much the product cost and asked for me to insert my credit card….yup. Straight to the payment.

Now I am not in the customer service industry (active duty Navy Sailor), but if i was Mary I would be mortified. I would have went right to my manager to get them involved and find some resolution.

Okay I am no “Karen”, but I was just shocked and processing everything. Little did she know is that this wristband was in honor of my father who passed away five years ago from cancer. A very sentimental items to me. And her clear lack of any concern was really eye opening.

So we left the building and walked down the street still processing it…but after thinking I was just couldn’t get past how much Mary just didn’t care at all. Almost as tho it was my fault and that it happens “a lot to other customers”. Her carelessness is just eye opening.

So we went back, and asked to speak to a manager. Talking to Mary would have yielded nothing…this is where it was a five star experience considering everything. Alex the manager was very very very apologetic. He handled everything with remorse and concern. And allowed us to pick an item from the store, obviously this is nothing compared to losing this item…

Alex is clearly a great manager and knows how to interact with his customers. Mary on the other hand is extremely careless, and doesn’t show any effort in her job. Sadly anything above a 1 star review would not bring attention to this issues.

Bottom line, have the customers remove their wristbands. “Sir / Ma’am, good afternoon! How was your experience!? Below you is a pair of scissors, go ahead and cut the wristband presented to you at the start”…

It’s very simple. It’s unfortunate a great experience was derailed by Mary’s carelessness and lack of concern / remorse. What’s worse is the comment “I always ask that the guys in the front don’t put the wristband next to personal ones”. So this happens often…and accordingly her it’s not her fault.

I get it, this isn’t a bad food order that could get re-done. You can’t fix the wristband…and I am not looking for free items. But just please have some care in your job! I lost a very sentimental items to some laziness.

Alex, keep up the great managerial work. Mary, please start caring a...

Review of Dennis at Sugar Land Distillery, Gatlinburg, TN

If you’re ever stumbling through Gatlinburg, TN, and you find yourself at the Sugar Land Distillery, I implore you to seek out Dennis. He’s not just an employee; he’s the unofficial mayor of the tasting room, the ambassador of fun, and quite possibly the most entertaining person you will meet in the entire Smoky Mountains.

Walking into the distillery, you’re greeted by the aroma of sugar cane and spice, but before you even have a chance to process the glorious scents, there’s Dennis! Picture this: a welcoming grin that's wider than the Great Smoky Mountains themselves, paired with a personality that could warm up a snowstorm. Dennis could probably even charm the squirrels off a tree.

From the moment the tour kicked off, I knew we were in for a ride. Dennis didn’t just deliver the standard spiel about the distillery’s history; he made it an experience. He regaled us with tales of how the distillery came to be, but with a twist—his penchant for adding in fantastical tales only enhanced the tour. At one point, he claimed that if you drink enough of their whiskey, you can actually hear the spirits of the distillers past arguing over who made the best moonshine. Who knew that whiskey had so many opinions?

The tasting was a spectacle in itself. Dennis turned each sip into a theatrical affair—complete with dramatic pauses and overly exaggerated facial expressions. “This one,” he said, holding up a glass with all the intensity of a movie trailer voiceover, “will make you feel like dancing on the tables in your living room—just maybe not in your neighbor’s!” At that moment, I knew we’d found a tour guide who truly understood the fine art of whiskey and hilarity.

And let’s talk about the samples. By the end of the tasting, my friends and I were convinced that if we took a shot with Dennis, we might be imbued with some sort of magical powers. He even joked that their moonshine could act as a sort of “truth serum.” Naturally, I confessed that I once tried to teach my dog to fetch me a beer. Dennis simply nodded, as if this were the most normal thing in the world, and suggested I might need a stronger spirit for that kind of training.

As we wrapped up our tour, I couldn't help but feel that Dennis had done more than just teach us about distilling; he had entertained us, bonded us over laughter, and possibly given us a reason to plan a return trip just to see him again. Who knew that a distillery tour could leave you with such high spirits—quite literally!

So, if you find yourself in Gatlinburg, drop by Sugar Land Distillery, raise a glass with Dennis, and prepare for an unforgettable blend of crafting and comedy. Trust me, you won't just leave with a bottle of delicious moonshine; you'll leave with memories that might just require another visit... and perhaps some aspirin for the morning...

This past Sunday, we made our way down to Gatlinburg to partake in some Wine, Shine, and Spirits along the strip and we gotta say out of all the places we did tastings at, it is Sugarlands Distilling Company that we had the most fun at.

Now, USA Today named them the #1 Tasting Experience for a reason, they even had signs hanging that stated the fact. Our host Stephanie definitely brought her A game Sunday and our entire group at the counter had a BLAST. She was funny, approachable, and encouraged everyone to participate and joyfully play along. Needless to say it was definitely the cherry on top of our Sunday Funday of Wine, Shine, and Spirits! There was even a point where my wife, Mel said she didn’t know we were going to HAVE THIS MUCH FUN at tasting. Lol Bonus points for how organized Sugarland had everything set up and how knowledgeable the tasting hosts were.

Our tastings consisted of:

Mark & Digger’s Mountain Legacy Corn Whiskey (woooooo what a way to start the tasting X_X lol)

Mark Roger’s American Peach (Very peachy)

Butterscotch Gold (Was expecting a Wurther’s Original lol still a bit of butterscotch)

Appalachian Apple Pie (Delivered on the apple pie flavor.)

Blackader’s Blackberry (Probably the most blackberry tasting thing we had on the strip in my opinion.)

Cherry Limeade (Tastes just like a Sonic’s Cherry Limeade slush)

Mark & Digger’s Rye Apple (Made me think of an Apple Jameson whiskey)

Sour Watermelon (As Stephanie said it tastes like a watermelon jolly rancher.)

Birthday Cake Sippin’ Cream (Birthday cake in a jar, pretty much)

Butter Pecan Sippin’ Cream (Top of my list for the sippin’ creams.)

Orange Cream Sippin’ Cream (Orange Creamsicle to the max.)

Chocolate Coffee Sippin’ Cream (Pretty good mocha flavor.)

If you are a fan of doing the tastings on the Gatlinburg strip, then don’t hesitate adding Sugarland Distilling Company to your list, because again they are organized, they are fun, and it is every bit the best experience on the strip, without question! You may just get lucky and get Stephanie hosting the tasting counter too.

The experience is $5 a person and after partaking in the experience we all agreed it was well worth it.

Best decision for us was saving them for last because it gave the others a fighting chance for the day lol 😉

Like Follow Share - Stumbo On The Go on Facebook...