Exclusive Interview with Matt Manning, Wholesale Director, and Whitney Meriwether, General Manager & Master Distiller, of Hilton Head Distillery

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Q: Please state your names, titles and distillery location.

Matt Manning, Wholesale Director, Hilton Head Island

Whitney Meriwether, General Manager & Master Distiller

We are Hilton Head Distillery.  Located on picturesque Hilton Head Island, SC. 

Q: Most people do not associate the state of South Carolina with rum, yet here you are with a rum-centric operation.  Can you explain how Hilton Head Distillery came into being and why rum plays such an important role?

Matt: Hilton Head Distillery came about from a combination of two age-old  traditions.  Caribbean rum making and Appalachia whiskey distilling.  And what goes better than Rum and an island!  We seek to plant the flag in Hilton Head as America’s Rum Distillery.  

Whitney:  That’s a great question.  The rum focus is one of the things that attracted me to Hilton Head in the first place.  There are not many craft distilleries who are focusing on rum production.  It’s a bit of a mystery to a lot of makers.  South Carolina has a rich history in growing sugar cane, the base of all rum.  Couple that with the fact that rum is truly the original American spirit that started on the eastern seaboard, and you may agree that Coastal Carolina is the perfect location for a rum distillery.

Q: Matt, this is not your first job at a craft distillery.  You were previously overseeing operations at Dark Corner Distillery, correct?  How are your current day-to-day responsibilities different now, compared to your previous job?

Matt:  Yes.  My job responsibilities have always been a revolving hat of many things.  Both with Dark Corner and with Hilton Head.  I always seem to go where I am needed most.  With Hilton Head my main focus is pushing our portfolio forward in wholesale distribution and product development.

Q:  Whitney, you too are a veteran in the craft spirits industry, correct?  Please tell us more about your experience in the West Coast and what brought you to South Carolina.

Whitney:  Since late 2020 I have been here in SC, but before that I had been distilling professionally for over a decade in Seattle, WA.

Q: Operating a distillery on the mainland is hard enough, but doing so on an island adds an additional level of complexity.  Can you tell us how being on an island affects your daily activities?  (environmental issues, transportation logistics, weather, etc.)

Whitney:  While we are off the beaten path, Hilton Head Island is a vacation destination so the infrastructure is pretty well developed.  We truly are on island time, however, and things can take a lot longer than what we would expect in a larger city.  

Matt: Yes, there is one way on and off this island so traffic can be a nightmare.  But other than that, the pros always outweigh the cons.

Q: But being on an island also has benefits not available to land-locked distillers, right?  What are some of the benefits that come with your territory?

Whitney:  There are so many benefits to our location, for making rum in particular.  The heat and humidity are very helpful for maturation, in the rum world we might call it “tropical aging” vs. “continental aging.”  While we lose more to the angels, our spirits mature much faster than what is typical.  Also, the vast biodiversity that is ever present, even in the air we breathe.  It wouldn’t be good for wine making, but for making rum these wild yeasts and bacteria help to create the tropical and fruity flavors we love in a good rum.  I can go on for days about the dunder, the muck pit, the coffin, and the ultra funk we are creating, but I’ll spare you the paper.  

Matt:  There are plenty of benefits to being on an island.  We have a captive audience of just over 3 million visitors each year.  Not to mention our soft sandy beaches and warm salty air which helps in the aging process of our spirits.  

Q: Are you fermenting molasses, cane juice, or something else?  How long does your fermentation last and is it the same for all your rums?

Whitney:  Yes, yes, yes, and it depends.  We make some light rum from a combination of molasses and cane syrup, this is a very quick and clean fermentation lasting 3-5 days.  On the other end of the spectrum we make heavy, full flavored rum with 100% molasses. This fermentation can go for over two weeks and can include some fun additions such as dunder and muck to increase the flavor potential.  One of our most special rum recipes uses one of my favorite substrates, Panela sugar.  Panela is like a whole sugar, basically dehydrated cane juice.  We source ours from a small family farm in Columbia.  It yields a rum that is fresh and earthly like an agricole rhum, but still creamy, sweet, and savory like a demerara.  

Q: What about your stills, can you tell us who designed them for you?

Whitney:  Our still house was designed with help from some rum makers in the Cayman Islands, and input from the legendary Michael Delevante.  We also have our first still ever, an 85 gallon legit Apalachan copper pot still welded by our founder and his father, her name is Bertha.  I added a double retort system to juice up my Hogo rum, and we still use it regularly. Between us, Bertha is my favorite.  

Q: What rums and flavored rums are you currently producing? 

  • Toasted Coconut - Our Platinum white rum with all natural coconut flavor and lightly sweetened with cane sugar.  This sweet and tasty rum makes a great island cocktail. 
  • Platinum White - Platinum is the workhorse of our rum house. Made with molasses as golden cane syrup, this pre-cask spirit is copper pot distilled to be smooth, subtly sweet, with notes of vanilla and molasses.
  • Spiced Rum - Our spiced rum is handcrafted using our custom spice blend including whole Tahitian vanilla beans, orange peel, cinnamon, allspice, a touch of caramel, and more.  Only real spices, no extracts or flavorings.
  • Bananas Foster - Our house-made Platinum rum, macerated and distilled with caramelized banana, Tahitian vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, and finished with a brown sugar banana syrup.
  • Solera Rum - Started in 2015, every bottle of our Solera Rum has a portion of our oldest rum.  The Solera aging system ensures consistency while allowing quality to improve with age.  Our Solera starts with Port casks and finishes with former Bourbon casks.  Characterized by notes of vanilla crème brûlé, toasted oak, baking spice, and tropical fruit.  While our rum has a notable sweetness, no sweetener or additives are ever added.  By the end of 2022 our Solera will consist of 50 barrels, from what we can tell that makes ours the largest and oldest Solera in the Continental US.
  • Dark Pineapple Rum - All natural pineapple juice is used to flavor a combination of aged and white rums.  To this we add rum that has been aged with fresh pineapples that are char-grilled and caramelized over open flames. 
  • Panela Rum - Panela is the least processed of any granulated sugar.  In essence it is Whole Sugar, the fresh pressed cane juice is gently heated to evaporate and remove the water.  This process leaves behind not only the sucrose, but all of the nutrients and flavor essence of the sugar cane.  Our Panela Navy Strength Rum showcases the essence of sugar cane.  The flavor is delicate and complex, with floral notes and Bartlett pear, vanilla, caramel cream, fresh sugar cane.  
  • Atlantic Bourbon - Hilton Head Atlantic Bourbon is a unique whiskey expression only possible in the coastal southeast.  Straight bourbon was aged in a continental climate and moved to our tropical zone for a total of 3-6 years, then finished in barrels that formerly held Hilton Head Distillery’s Solera Rum.  This bourbon is notably sweet on the outset, then develops on the palate with rich flavors of caramel, vanilla, and baking spice.  The essence of tropical fruit and floral notes are undeniable effects of the rum barrel finishing.  At 92°, this non-chill filtered bourbon is an excellent sipper and will stand out in all of your favorite cocktails.  

Q: Wow!  You have such an array of unique and interesting rums, hence many cocktails to offer guests, right?  Do you have a favorite cocktail and why?

Whitney:  I love a good daiquiri, but not the blended thing with cheap syrup.  I’m talking Rum, Lime, and Sugar, that’s the holy trinity of rum.  That said, there are too many variations to count.  These three ingredients are the foundation on which so many beautiful cocktails can be built.

Matt: For me it’s hard to have just one favorite.  My curious and adventurous nature leads me to seek the unexplored and try the unusual.  If I had to make a choice though I would say the old fashioned - or some riff on the classic - is probably my go to drink in just about any bar.

Q: I love coconut, so if I were to visit your distillery, what cocktail would you recommend for me?

Whitney:  I have to send you towards a delicious classic, the timeless pina colada.  So tasty, and when done well it can really showcase a quality rum.

Matt: It would depend on the time of year for me.  In the summer our coconut mojito is one of my favorite cocktails. Boozy, light, refreshing and totally crushable.  For the holidays, Coquito is the way I’m going every time.  

Q: Do you have plans to add new rums to your portfolio soon?

Whitney:  We just added three new products which we are incredibly proud of.  Our Panela Navy Strength, the Solera Rum, and the third is our Rum Cask Finished Bourbon.  These just hit distribution in SC, and we intend to bring them to some neighboring states next year.

Q: Where are your products currently available for purchase?

We are currently available at spirits retailers across South Carolina, as well as hundreds of bars and restaurants.  

Q: Do you offer tours at the distillery? If so, are reservations recommended or required? 

Yes we do!  We offer them daily from 12-5pm.  Reservations are recommended, but not required.  You can book your tour right from our website:

www.hiltonheaddistillery.com/experiences

Q: Can you tell us a bit about what a customer will experience when they arrive at the distillery? 

An immersive, multi-sensory experience for those looking to geek out and deepen their love of craft distilled spirits. From an informative distillery walk-through to an exclusive sampling of our finest spirits, the Distillery Tour & Tasting is sure to keep you engaged and entertained.

  1. Learn about rum and our location
  2. Feel the heat from the still.
  3. Smell the molasses, panela, or grain in the kettle..
  4. See the bottle filling process.
  5. Mix and mingle with our team.
  6. Redeem $5 Bottle Bucks towards purchase of your first bottle.

Take home a free souvenir shot glass.  After your tour, enjoy a tasting flight of neat samples that you’ll sip overlooking the Distillery and stacked barrels of our aging spirits.

Q: In addition to the tour, tastings and cocktail bar, you also offer classes, correct?  Can you tell us more about the classes?

Yes, we host fun and informative classes a few times each month.  Cocktails range from FlamingTiki drinks to the All-Time Classics, as well as, some seasonally themed classes.  They have been a really fun experience for our entire team.  Guests are greeted with a welcome cocktail as they arrive.  We set each group up with all the necessary cocktail tools needed to create 3 distinct and unique cocktails.  We then take our guests on an exploration into the history, science, and theories behind craft cocktails.  Most importantly though, we take the time to enjoy each hand-crafted cocktail and talk about the nuances of each one.  Everyone gets to leave with a bottle of their choice and souvenir glass!

Q: I am a HUGE fan of sea turtles and I understand that the island’s hatching season is happening right now (from May through October).  Are you all involved with helping out the sea turtles or are there other social/community programs where you are actively involved?

Whitney:  Yes!  I am also a little obsessed with the sea turtles.  We have started donating to a couple great organizations, Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head, and Turtle Trackers of HHI.  Everyone on the island takes extra special care not to disturb our sea turtle population.  

Q: If people want to contact you, how may they reach you? 

The best way to reach us is through our website, hiltonheaddistillery.com.  Also follow us on instagram!  

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Whitney:  We are just so excited to see where American rum is going, and to be a part of the new guard.  We have some really unique, creative, and delicious spirits on the horizon and we can’t wait to share them all with spirits lovers everywhere!

Margaret: Again Matt and Whitney, thank you so much for this opportunity and I wish you and your entire team all the best of luck.

Cheers!

Margaret Ayala,

Publisher of “Got Rum?”