Behind Bars at Whiskey Prison: Bourbon, History, and an Unexpected Brotherhood

Southern Grace Distilleries may have one of the most unusual distillery settings in America. After spending an afternoon behind the fence, we discovered that the whiskey is every bit as memorable as the prison.

Our visit on September 11, 2026, marked 25 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Flight 93. It was already a day for remembering sacrifice, courage, and the people who serve this country. By the time our visit to Southern Grace Distilleries was over, it had also become a day spent sharing bourbon and stories with a parking lot full of American veterans. That part was not planned, but the bourbon was.

Taking the Scenic Route

Southern Grace Distilleries is located in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, about two hours from home. We booked the midday tour, pointed the car north, and followed U.S. Route 1 for much of the drive. The road was easy, the weather cooperated, and we pulled into the distillery with about 15 minutes to spare. Parking was no problem, but the scene from the front gate was not quite what we expected.

In a lot filled with motorcycles, a group of men and women wearing leather biker gear, boots, and jeans were milling about just inside the main entrance. Loud music was blasting from inside the largest building on the grounds. More on that later.

Some people might have felt just a little apprehensive walking into a prison yard with these individuals. But not us. We had arrived expecting to taste some great bourbon, see where it was made, and learn how this unique location became a distillery. Nothing was going to change that.

As it turned out, the group consisted of members of the American Legion Riders from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. They were veterans and Legion Auxiliary members enjoying their own bourbon adventure, just like us.

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we could have found no better company.

Welcome to Whiskey Prison

Check-in was simple. A pleasant young woman greeted us and showed us into the bar and tasting area. Almost immediately, the name “Whiskey Prison” began to make sense.

This is not a tasting room decorated to resemble an old jail. Southern Grace is located inside an actual former North Carolina correctional facility. The bars, cells, concrete walls, guard areas, and heavy doors are all still there.

The prison opened in 1929 and operated until 2011. Southern Grace moved its distilling operation to the property in 2016, converting prison buildings into production space and barrel houses. The company describes itself as the first distillery in the world located in a former prison.

It may sound like a gimmicky marketing theme until you walk through the gates. Once you see the operation and hear its story, you realize this is a serious distillery. Southern Grace has wisely chosen to preserve the prison’s character rather than hide it.

Doing Time

Our tour began promptly. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, engaging, humorous, and easy to talk to. He knew the history of the property and understood the whiskey-making process, but never sounded like he was reciting a script. Questions were encouraged. Conversation came naturally. The group could laugh, ask about the barrels, look inside the cells, and take time to understand what Southern Grace is doing. This was Southern hospitality, sprinkled with a good bit of Southern humor, at its best.

A good distillery tour should teach you something without making you feel like you are sitting through a lecture. Our guide accomplished that. He explained each step in the process clearly while leaving plenty of room for interaction. This was especially the case toward the end of our tour when we entered the original East and West cell blocks. These have been repurposed as a large rickhouse that was the source of the loud music we had been hearing since arriving.

Our guide explained that this was called “sonic aging”. In theory, the vibrations from the music cause the whiskey to move inside the barrel, increasing its interaction with the wood. That whiskey-to-wood interaction is the purpose of barrel aging, and we can personally attest that the whiskey does in fact dance inside barrels as described.

The prison supplied its own atmosphere and complemented the overall process. Cells once used to confine inmates now hold aging bourbon. Steel bars separate rows of barrels instead of prisoners. The old solitary-confinement area has also been incorporated into the story of the whiskey. Southern Grace did not cover the place with artificial props or turn it into an amusement attraction. The buildings tell the story because they are the story.

One Barrel at a Time

Southern Grace is a true craft distillery in the best sense of the term.

We were told that the operation currently produces approximately one barrel of whiskey per day, with plans to increase that to two barrels per day soon. That remains tiny compared with the major producers that measure production in hundreds or even thousands of barrels per day. Small production is not automatically better production. Craft whiskey should never receive extra credit simply because a distillery is small. The whiskey still has to be good.

Southern Grace understands that. CEO and co-founder Thomas Thacker has said that the company does not want Conviction, its signature release, to be considered “good for craft.” It wants the bourbon to be judged as good, period.

They have allowed some of their earliest barrels to reach and exceed eight years of age. That patience and dedication to the craft show in the glass. In August 2026, the distillery released its first eight-year-old Conviction bourbon, an important milestone for an independent producer that began filling barrels behind these walls less than a decade ago.

Conviction is produced grain to glass at Whiskey Prison. Southern Grace uses locally sourced corn, then distills, barrels, ages, and bottles the whiskey on the property. According to the distillery, more than 800 barrels and casks are now aging there.

Southern Grace is growing, but in a very disciplined and measured manner. A newly added barrel house will soon provide space for approximately 1,100 additional barrels, nearly doubling the distillery’s aging capacity. That investment matters because bourbon growth cannot be rushed. Increasing production today means waiting years before the additional whiskey is ready. Tangible proof of that patience was sitting in the rickhouse where we found SGD Barrel No. 1, still aging away. It will be 10 years old next year, and rumors are already swirling about a special release.

The Whiskey Earns Its Freedom

The tour was excellent, but the tasting was where Southern Grace separated itself from places that rely too heavily on an interesting location. The prison gets your attention. The whiskey makes the visit worthwhile.

The tasting selections were generous and included several releases not readily available in stores. That gave us an opportunity to taste beyond the standard bottle and see where the lineup is headed.

The Conviction Founder’s Reserve we sampled was excellent. It had the maturity, depth, and balance we hoped to find from a small distillery that has been patiently building its aged inventory. We brought one home to compare with the first-release bottle already on our shelf. Check back soon for our Tasting Notes on this and other bottles.

The Double Oak was another standout. Double-oaking can easily overwhelm a bourbon with dry wood and tannin, especially when the underlying whiskey is still young. Southern Grace found a better balance. The additional oak added richness and structure without completely burying the bourbon beneath it. We will give the Double Oak a closer look in an upcoming Tasting Notes review.

Then came the release called “Solitary Confinement.” The name fits the place perfectly, but this was more than clever branding. Aged for seven years inside the small building known as “the Box,” it was one of the most memorable pours of the visit. When tasted beside whiskey from the same distillate aged in the main rickhouse rather than the Box, the difference was distinct and impressive. The comparison proved once again that a distiller’s choice of aging location can influence the final whiskey almost as much as the time is spends in the barrel. This bottle found its way home with us as well.

We came away from the tasting realizing that these were not bottles riding on the novelty of being aged in a prison. They were serious bourbons made by a small North Carolina craft distillery that has learned how its whiskey responds to its buildings, barrels, and local climate.

Bourbon Brothers and Sisters

By the time the tour ended and the tasting began, the motorcycles outside no longer seemed unusual. The American Legion Riders were simply fellow whiskey enthusiasts. We talked, tasted, laughed, and enjoyed the afternoon together. Whatever hesitation someone might have felt upon seeing that parking lot would have disappeared within a few minutes.

They were veterans, auxiliary members, and bourbon brothers and sisters. On a day devoted to remembering an attack on our country and honoring those who answered the call afterward, sharing a pour with them felt especially meaningful. That unexpected connection became one of the best parts of the visit.

Whiskey has always had a way of doing that. It brings strangers to the same bar, gives them an easy reason to start talking, and occasionally sends them home as friends.

The Prison Is Real. So Is the Whiskey.

Southern Grace Distilleries has one of the best settings for a distillery tour we have visited. The old prison is authentic, visually striking, and genuinely interesting. The preserved cells and barred barrel houses make Whiskey Prison unlike almost any other stop on the bourbon road. But a unique building can only carry a distillery so far.

Southern Grace backs up the setting with warm hospitality, an informative and entertaining tour, true small-scale craft production, and whiskey that deserves to be taken seriously. The prison gets your attention. The Southern Grace team makes you feel welcome. The bourbon lineup gives you a reason to remember the visit.

Southern Grace calls this place Whiskey Prison. After tasting what is aging behind those bars, we would say the whiskey is serving its time very well.

We arrived not knowing what to expect. We left impressed by the place, the people, and the bourbon.

The prison was real. The hospitality was genuine. And the bourbon was incredible.