E-18: Award Winning Distillery Lends a Hand

<p>A distillery in Statesville, NC, uses their equipment to produce highly sought-after hand sanitizer.</p> Southern Distilling Company <p>Baking flour, paper towels, bicycles and canning jars. What do all these things have in common? They were all scarce at one point during the pandemic. Another item that was really hard to find on market shelves early in the pandemic and came recommended as a means to slow down the spread of COVID-19 was hand sanitizer. In this interview, I talk to one of the hundreds of distilleries who answered the call to assist with the extreme hand sanitizer shortage of 2020.</p> <p>Founded in 2013, the Southern Distilling Company is an award-winning distillery located in Statesville, NC. Their product line, Southern Star, was awarded thirteen medals in their first year of production by prestigious international spirits competitions. The company supports farms in their community by making their bourbon, rye whiskey and liqueurs with locally-sourced grain.</p> <p>In this installment of Clocking In, I speak with the co-owner of Southern Distilling Company, Vienna Barger. Vienna has over 20 years of experience working in the health field. Vienna holds a bachelor’s in child development and family studies from Humboldt State University and a master’s in social work and master's of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina.</p> <p>In this episode, we discuss how Southern Distilling Company came to be, the legislative obstacles in place throughout the country concerning the production and distribution of liquors, why they began producing hand sanitizer to combat the spread of COVID-19 and more.</p> <p>LINKS <a href='https://www.ncmep.org/'>NCMEP</a> <a href='https://www.southerndistillingcompany.com/'>Southern Distilling Company</a></p> <p>ABOUT</p> <p>Phil Mintz <a href='https://www.ies.ncsu.edu/staff/phil-mintz/'>Phil Mintz</a> is the Executive Director of NC State Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) and Director of the North Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnersh