Weldon Mills Distillery — Local services in Weldon

Holy smokes! Look out world these guys came to play! In my other life I'm an executive bourbon steward check me out @executivewhiskeysteward ;) fancy title for saying I love a great story and sipping brown water. When I saw the billboards I thought to myself yeah right seems like everyone wins medals for something these days...boy was I wrong! They earned their medals. No participation trophies here. Friendly faces galore. From the moment we arrived before even getting in the door we were warmly welcomed and greeted. So First Impression success. A lot of distilleries have lost this simple welcoming touch that opens you up to a great experience. Then onto the tour which ran every 30 mins via a vintage trolly and our wonderful tour guide Tim! Great story, vet owned and operated and there are so many great things about to come from this place in the very near future so be on the lookout! I don't know how they found Master Distiller Mike Norman or where he was hiding but holy bleep this guy makes great booze! Mike lets hang out!!! They are also extremely environmentally conscious which is a huge rarity in the bourbon/whiskey world. No whiskey fungus here due to something awesomely technical that I cant quite remember. Back to the tasting room/giftshop/bar/three story venue for all occasions/outdoor venue and our tasting guide Paul. If you go and Tim and Paul aren't there just come back when they are. I'm pretty sure Paul and I are now best friends. The tasting was phenomenal I think it was like 5 bucks for 5 pours or something very similar to that. Needless to say I got 2 rounds to try a little bit of every category. This isn't just great bourbon being made here although it definitely is the star of the show but also tequila...yes tequila not agave, flavored gins, vodkas and more!. You can also pay forward a shot to a vet for when they come for the experience. Hands down their reserve is some of the best bourbon out there. Period! The All Malt is also a monster that is unlike anything I've ever had in a great way. These 2 belong on everyone's shelf from casual drinker to aficionado! Don't think about it just go and enjoy one of the best and brightest upcoming...

The tour itself was awesome. The location is gorgeous- there's a park between the two buildings, and a good view of the river; we could have happily spent all day there. Tim (I think that was the guy's name) was very knowledgeable and entertaining as he walked us around the distillery and chatted as he drove the trolley to the other building. He was great during the tasting too, which we ended up doing after the tour, describing each of the samples and things to look for in each. He gets 5 stars for the tour.

That being said, the lead up to the tour was not good. There was no signage or anything to tell you what was going on. There are two facilities, and we weren't even sure which was the place to be for the beginning of the tour. We just went with the place that had the most cars. The lady who was in the main building was less than forthcoming and not very friendly. When I asked if this was where the tours departed, she said they leave on the hour. That's fine, but didn't really answer my question. (We came out from Raleigh, so ended up being early) She gave no welcome or details either, and didn't mention anything about the tasting that went with the tour. I headed in her direction twice more after about 20 minutes to ask another question, but both times she seemed to see me coming and walked away. I asked another guy- scruffy beard and a ballcap, and he gave me more details (so thanks!). For reference, the tall building past the park is the one where the tours depart- they take you in a trolley to the distillery, which looks like it was an old school building but was an old sewing factory.

The place is fairly new still, so hopefully they're still working on things. Even something as simple as a sign would be a huge help, and would make everything less awkward and unwelcoming. We made reservations online, but nobody ever asked our name or to see a receipt or anything. Overall though, it made for a great Father's Day excursion, and dad enjoyed the...

Sometimes small is great…this place was great for two reasons: the people and the process. My wife signed us up for a distillery tour. I didn't quite know what to expect. We were greeted by Tim and Paul. Tim gave us the personal tour of the distillery. He was personable and so knowledgable. Paul was also very easy to talk to and a great resource. He helped us pick the tasting samples at the end of the tour. Tim educated us on the process of making spirits and showed us each step of the way: from where they source their barrels and grains to why they do what they do. It was fun because we were able to see where the products came from and their beliefs on how they make their product. Weldon Mills is craft…not a large mechanized assembly line. Tim explained all their grain is from a local farm nearby and how they malt their grains the old fashioned way. The reason why they have won medals over their much larger counterparts is because they were willing to experiment, take some calculated risks, and process in small batches, partly because they had to to be scrappy and partly because they were unwilling to compromise on certain processes. I won’t steal their thunder but it’s worthwhile to hear it directly from Tim their story. It’s a good one. You can taste the quality of their spirits and I am now bent toward small batch craft distilleries over the larger mass production spirits. Their bourbon was clean and smooth. There is a part of me that would like to keep this place a hidden gem but I think this place is one that needs...