In Wilmington, NC a distillery that opened just before the pandemic hit is thriving. There, owner Shane Faulkner and the crew collaborate like scientists always tinkering, playing, tasting. And the results are garnering notice and winning awards.
End of Days Distillery hand-crafts gin, vodka, and rum. They also offer Barrel-Rested versions of their gin and rum.
End of Days traces every grain and botanical to its original roots. The end products are the result of hours of tinkering until it’s perfect.
The Port of Entry Vodka is the prestigious winner of the 2020 North Carolina Vodka of the Year. This super smooth spirit is “100% corn base, seven times distilled and slow filtered through activated carbon.”
The Port of Entry Gin (Double Gold Winner) smells of delicious juniper berries. “This exquisitely balanced gin is built on a super smooth, 100% corn base, six times distilled prior to the nuanced infusing of juniper and other botanicals.”
The Port of Entry Rum (Double Gold Winner) smells and tastes of butterscotch and vanilla. This clear rum is “made 100% from Molasses and Raw Cane Sugar. This specially proportioned white rum is a sweet yet buttery spirit, that has a wonderful mouthfeel and delicate tasting notes.”
The limited Castaway Series include a Barrel-Rested Gin “is a perfect balance of juniper with notes of cardamom, rose hips, and hints of lemongrass, citrus, and oak. Rested in oak barrels for a beautiful golden color and smooth finish”, as well as a Barrel-Rested Rum which “features subtle notes of smooth vanilla, oak, and caramel on the nose that coaxes unique character out of this rum distilled from cane sugar and molasses.”
When the pandemic hit soon after the distillery’s open, they quickly turned to produce hand sanitizer (20,000 bottles) for health care workers and those in need which they continue to create today.
Owner Shane Faulker spoke with Asheville’s MIX 965 about the origins of their name, the pivot from creating spirits to hand sanitizer, and the vision and mindset behind the scenes of one of the most exciting new distilleries in the country right here in North Carolina.
For more, check out End of Days Distillery’s website here.