When UGA biochemistry professor Robert Woods first considered opening a craft distillery in Athens, he was told that it would be impossible due to legal barriers. But after a careful search, Woods found nothing in Athens’ legal code to stop him. In 2023, he opened Oak House Distillery and Speakeasy—Athens’ first legal distillery since the Civil War—with his wife, Supakana Nagachinta, who has a PhD in food science.
Since then, Athens’ craft spirits scene has grown rapidly, with both Creature Comforts and Athentic breweries starting to distill their own spirits. Confident that the craft spirits trend represents a long-term shift in the alcohol market, Creature Comforts has opened Cura, a new cocktail bar and event space, alongside its downtown tasting room. Athens Spirits Co. has also joined Athens’ craft spirits renaissance and has been offering their limited edition bourbon at liquor stores across town, although they currently lack a physical location.
The sudden rise of craft spirits in Athens may be more the result of demographic changes than newfound clarity regarding alcohol laws. Athens is, of course, a college town first and foremost. While beer will likely remain the most popular alcoholic beverage for some time, some surveys show that the generation currently attending college, Gen Z, drinks more spirits, cocktails and hard seltzers than other generations.
Athens’ breweries have been attentive to these market changes and quick to diversify their offerings. Often, this means starting with spirits like gin and vodka because these spirits don’t need to be aged like bourbon and whiskey. Woods says that this fact about production scheduling can sometimes encourage new distilleries that ultimately intend to focus on bourbon or whiskey to offer relatively low-quality gin at first as they try to recoup some of their up-front investment. This isn’t the case at Oak House. Woods is passionate about his award-winning gin, which is made in a contemporary style that’s not as juniper-forward as traditional gins. Instead, Robert’s No. 1 American Dry Gin includes notes of lavender and citrus combined with flavors from Southeast Asia like cardamom, coriander and grains of paradise.
Oak House Distillery also makes a barrel-aged Old Tom gin, Jamaican-style gold and silver rums and an organic vodka they filter through coconut charcoal. They also offer the mandarin orange liqueur Mandaraina onsite mixed with their in-house cocktails, and may make it available for purchase in bottles soon.
Cura, the name of Creature Comforts’ new cocktail bar, which opened last month, is derived from a Latin word meaning “to care” and “to be curious,” according to a press release. At Cura, Creature Comforts offers high-end cocktails with gin, vodka and rum that they distill in-house. It also offers a custom bourbon blend developed in partnership with a Kentucky-based distiller. Additionally, Creature Comforts has launched a new “Sun Glow” line of vodka seltzers (4.5% ABV) this year that have real fruit juice and no added sugar, complimenting the malt-based, red lemonade Sip ‘Em Seltzer (5% ABV) released last year.
Creature Comforts co-founder and CEO Adam Beauchamp said in the press release that the company’s foray into distilled spirits was “driven by the idea of fostering human connection” and their desire to “connect with new audiences and new occasions.” He added, “Beyond base spirits, we are driven to learn and create all of the attributes of a cocktail, and as such, drinks that are uniquely Athenian.”
Cura is a large event space (1,700 square feet) with a capacity of 100 people that’s open Thursday through Saturday from 5–10 p.m.
Athentic Brewery, located in the heart of Normaltown, is known for its live music (including the Normaltown Music Festival, which takes place in April) and craft beer selection, but it has recently started distilling under the Athentic Spirits label as well. They currently offer four spirits: Topknot Vodka, which is distilled eight times for a smooth texture; Warbler Rum, a premium white rum with bright citrus notes; and Rum Agricola, a specialty small-batch rum made from cane sugar grown in Statesboro. Unique among Athens’ distillers, it also offers an agave spirit similar to tequila made with maple-smoked prickly pear cactus leaves. Athentic offers each spirit in-house as a howdy or shot and also to-go in 750-milliliter bottles.
Athenic also offers vodka slushies and draft cocktails that are frequently rotated. Right now, its draft cocktails include Cosmo, Transfusion and Bees Knees, all made with Topknot Vodka.
Athentic regularly hosts guided spirits tastings, the next of which is during its fifth anniversary celebration on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 4–6 p. m. It’s also releasing a new peach brandy on that day, the first in a series of fruited brandies. You can sign up for a guided tasting time slot at their taproom on Park Avenue.
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