Drinking in Nashville: 6 Craft Distilleries In Music City
Photo via Nelson's Green Brier Distillery
Move over Louisville, Nashville has come into its own as a top destination for distilleries. Music City boasts several hotspots for crafting and sipping libations—from gin to bourbon and even absinthe. Long known as a “drinking town with a music problem,” Nashville has a bevy of options to cure what ails you. Why settle for a tear in your beer when you can get whiskey bent and hell bound?
Corsair Distillery
The internationally recognized makers at Corsair Distillery are always experimenting with something new. With a line-up of more than 25 craft spirits available, including standard and rotating seasonal offerings, they could easily stop exploring and work with what they’ve already made—beverages that have won them more than 40 medals at spirits competitions. But why would they stop? Corsair proudly touts their product as ‘booze for badasses.’ And it doesn’t take much more than a sip or two of Small Batch Triple Smoke Whiskey to understand why. Both a distillery and a “brewstillery” (Corsair makes a high-gravity beer that falls under their malt whiskey program), Corsair’s offerings include artisan gin, absinthe and spiced rum, along with an ever-changing whiskey and bourbon rotation. What started as a small distillery in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has now expanded into three locations where connoisseurs can taste and tour, Tuesday through Sunday.
Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery
Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery’s Belle Meade Bourbon dates back to the American pre-prohibition era. The great-great-great grandsons of the original owner, Charles Nelson, resurrected the product line, which features a multitude of offerings with a spicy high-rye content. No other Bourbon tastes like Belle Meade; the brothers made sure of it by establishing a proprietary blend of four barrels per batch, using two different mash bills and yeast strains. Included in their signature brand is a cask-strength single-barrel variation, cognac and sherry cask offerings and a 91-proof white whiskey. Group tours and tastings, as well as prearranged private tours are available seven days a week. And while Greenbrier isn’t quite Nashville—it is a charming small town located a mere half hour away.