COLUMBIA, S.C. — When Craig Amick and his wife started Hollow Creak Distillery 10 years ago, they never expected to hit the level of notoriety that they did this week.
"We weren’t expecting very much out of these. And then we end up with a pretty good rack of medals."
Hollow Creek was just named the South Carolina Distillery of the Year and took home a Double Gold winner with their William Alan Bourbon from the New York International Spirits Competition. Prior to this distinction, they were given even more awards at the via the Los Angeles international and the San Francisco international spirit competitions.
"Honestly, we were absolutely floored"
Amick says this was even more impressive of a feet because breweries in the Columbia and Lexington County area don't normally receive awards and recognition like Hollow Creek has.
"It is very rare, there isn’t a lot of distilleries around us."
According to Venetia Sharpe, a co-owner of Southern Essence Distilling, when she started brewing in 2018 there were 9 distillers in the Columbia region. That number has severely dropped since.
"The fact of the matter is, there were nine and now there’s three"
Her and her husband, John, work together to create a long list of spirits and high proof drinks. They work with local growers to make new flavors and "just have some fun."
At the start of the pandemic, the Sharpes began developing hand sanitizers for hospitals, first responders, and anyone else who asked. Since then, they've gone back to creating spirits but found hurdles in process.
"You depend a lot on word of mouth, when you don’t have a wholesaler so people have to get to you and find you."
A combination of regulations, location concerns, and other outside factors have made it difficult for Southern Essence to keep its doors open.
Despite the decrease in distilleries, one area that has found success is breweries. Roger Loughney, a manager at Hunter-Gatherer Brewery, says a growing interest from younger customers is giving a boost to brewers around the country, especially here in Columbia.
"I think that people like the idea that it’s a local person, you can meet the person that makes the beer."