Southern Pines will soon be welcoming a new Distillery campus into the area’s vibrant bar scene after the newest equipment addition to the Brad Halling American Whiskey Ko. (BHAWK) facility was completed on Friday, Nov. 17.
Army Veterans and Owners BHAWK Brad and Jessica Halling joined with members of their BHAWK membership organization Club 62 and members of the community to witness the installation of a custom copper column whiskey still to their Distillery campus located at 175 Yadkin Rd in Southern Pines.
Measuring 12 inches in diameter and 34 feet long, this still will be used to produce BHAWK’s first barrels of Sergeant’s Valor Estate Bourbon.
“It’s actually the workhorse, it’s the heart of the facility,” shared Brad Halling. “This is essentially what’s going to strip alcohol from the mash that we cook and turn it into barrels of good bourbon whiskey.”
This piece of equipment was custom made by Vendome Copper & Brass Works In Louisville KY. The equipment was shipped in and lowered into the distillery via crane through an open roof hatch for installation. According to Jessica Halling, the company works with distilleries to produce equipment responsible for some of the best bourbons in the country.
“The Sergeants Valor Bourbon is a mash bill that’s very similar to what you might find with an Old Forester. The recipe is somewhat common amongst bourbons but it’s 72 percent corn, it’s going to be 18 percent rye and malted barley,” shared Brad.
Over all, the couple confirmed that the external factors are what will make the bourbon unique to Southern Pines.
The Distillery has one more major piece of equipment to add to their facility before they are ready to start production.
“The Hammer Mill. It will be installed after the column and it will be the piece of equipment that mills the grain down,” shared Jessica. “We’re on track, it’s just a matter of the final testing of all the equipment and things like that. Everything besides the hammer mill as of today (Friday) is here.
The Distillery is aiming to open in early 2024.
Editor’s Note: More on the BHAWK Distillery and the progress made in 2023 will be featured in our upcoming Dec. 5 print issue. Click here to see previous issues and click here to learn subscribe!
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