Extraordinary Spirits Come From Extraordinary Ingredients
Taste what a difference 100% organic Carolina soft red winter wheat makes—a difference in flavor, a difference in smoothness and more importantly, a difference for our North Carolina farmers.
Tours of the distillery are available on most Thursdays and Fridays at 6pm and 7pm, as well as most Saturdays at 4pm and 5pm. The Date and Time tab below provides you with a list of dates that are currently available. If you have already purchased a Living Social or Groupon voucher, redeem it here when you schedule your visit. Your tour will include a guided tour of the facility as well as a full tasting of our organic spirits line. To schedule for large groups, please email us.
Questions? Contact our team
or call us at (919) 699-8703.
When it comes to flavor, we’ve got a gin that both die-hards and newcomers will love to drink.
A New American Dry Gin
TOPO Piedmont Gin is a superb example of the new category of American Dry gins in which we enhance the natural smoothness of the spirit with only a judicious addition of juniper. This allows our other botanicals — cardamom, coriander, star anise, and even local organic cucumber — to tantalize your mouth with the verdant exuberance of the Carolina Piedmont region.
The nose is comprised of evergreen with citrus highlights. Upon tasting, the subtle vanilla of the base spirit gives way to hints of black pepper that quickly finishes in a balanced, earthy spiciness with a touch of hazelnut.
Like a great southern party guest, TOPO Vodka has enough character and depth to carry the conversation alone, but is classy and smooth enough to mix nicely with others.
Cocktail Enthusiast Review:
"Topo Vodka is crystal clear in the glass and presents a beguiling nose. It’s sweet — really sweet — with lots of buttery vanilla rather than your typical vodka neutrality. Drink up and you’ll find more of that sweetness. It’s very smooth and shows almost none of that rubbing alcohol quality often associated with vodkas. Toward the finish, the sweetness fades and it becomes much drier, a welcome close to the sweet start.
"This is an interesting vodka. It’s easy to drink, naturally sweet and presents a good amount of flavor. So we’d recommend drinkers sample it straight before masking it with mixers. And speaking of mixing, that flavor profile may complement cocktails rather than simply provide an alcohol base."
Drink it now and enjoy a sophisticated young white whiskey, or age it and savor what wheat can do as it turns to gold.
Tasting Panel Magazine 2013 Selection:
"Fudge and clay soothe on the first whiff, evolving to an earthy vanilla bean note. A clean, pure sensation is buoyed by the lightweight texture and peppered fudge in the mouth. The taste lingers, a generous spread of its wonderfully sweet character."
Of the six sisters of American Whiskey — Bourbon, Rye, Malted Rye, Malted Barley, Corn, & Wheat — wheat is the smoothest and best tasting. But owing to its expense, wheat fell out of favor as a distilling grain over 150 years ago. We think it’s time wheat made a comeback. As far as we can tell, Top of the Hill Distillery is one of only five distilleries in the United States making wheat whiskey.
TOPO Carolina Whiskey won a silver medal in the 2013 San Francisco International Spirits Competition and a silver medal at the Beverage Tasting Institute in Chicago.
Secure the tap with a mallet. Use the funnel to fill cask with warm water. Secure the plug. Let the cask soak in a place where it may safely drip.
2. Age the Whiskey
Allow the cask to stop dripping. Remove the plug and drain the water. Set the cask on its stand and fill with the un-aged whiskey provided. Secure plug again.
3. Enjoy!
Remove the plug. Twist the tap to release whiskey. Strain as needed with a wet cheese cloth. Repeat the aging process up to four times.
Age Your Own Whiskey Kit
Develop our smooth wheat flavor exactly the way you like it — your taste, your color, your preference.
Become Your Own Cellar Master
Our age your own Whiskey Kit allows you to be the cellar master and age 2 liters of Carolina Whiskey to perfection yourself! Because of the increased surface area to volume ratio of the two liter barrel, the whiskey ages approximately 12–15 times faster than in a normal 53 gallon barrel. Consequently, in as little as three months, you can have an exquisite Wheat Whiskey.
We can say from personal experience that this is far better than a homebrew kit. With proper care and execution — the embedded video above walks you through the process (instructions begin at 1:10) — you can make world class aged Wheat Whiskey which will rival any bourbon you have ever tasted.
Topo is the only distillery in the South that handcrafts & bottles its spirits from scratch using local and organic ingredients.
In the 1990’s our Top of the Hill Restaurant and Brewery helped forge the North Carolina microbrewing renaissance. The brew collection has earned over 50 national awards including this year’s Best in Show (out of 750 beers) at the Hickory Hops Festival for our Kenan Lager. We are now proud to carry that heritage into microdistilling, and it all begins with local, organic ingredients — 100% organic soft red winter wheat from Scotland Neck, NC. Our experienced distillers then craft this top quality grain into spirit using precision equipment sourced from a fifth generation German still maker.
2 oz. TOPO Piedmont Gin
2 cups watermelon
1 oz. Lemon Juice
½ oz. Jalapeno simple syrup
Preparation:
Cut watermelon into 1" thick cubes. Combine ingredients in a shaker, add ice & shake vigorously until watermelon is pulped. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with a watermelon wedge.
Spicy Cucumber Lemonade
Spirit: TOPO Vodka
Type: Rocks
Ingredients:
2 oz.TOPO Vodka
2 oz. cucumber water*
2 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. jalapeno simple syrup**
Preparation:
Add ice to a shaker and shake well. Pour into a tall glass. *To make cucumber water: puree one cucumber, strain to remove seeds, and chill. **Simple syrup: boil sugar in water with sliced jalapenos, strain and cool.
Peach Fuzz
Spirit: TOPO Vodka
Type: Tall Glass
Ingredients:
3 oz. TOPO Vodka
2 ripe summer peaches
2 cups of ice
1 oz Simple Syrup
Preparation:
Peel peaches, cut in half & remove pit. Combine with other ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Distribute into tall glasses & garnish with a slice of peach. (Makes drinks for 2 to 4).
Tres Reyes
Spirit: Carolina Whiskey
Type: Martini
Ingredients:
2 oz. TOPO Carolina Whiskey
1 oz. Liquor 43
1 oz. Chambord
1 oz. Larry's Bean's Coffee Concentrate
1 egg white
Grated Nutmeg
Preparation:
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake very vigorously until foamy. Strain into chilled martini glass. Grate nutmeg over foam surface for garnish.
The New Fashioned
Spirit: Carolina Whiskey
Type: Rocks
Ingredients:
2 oz. TOPO Carolina Whiskey
1 Cherry, pitted
1 Orange Sedge
3 Lemon Wedges
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
½ oz. Simple Syrup
Preparation:
Muddle cherry, orange, lemon wedges, bitters and simple syrup. Add whiskey and strain over ice into rocks glass. Garnish with an orange slice.
South Side Fizz
Spirit: Piedmont Gin
Type: Martini
Ingredients:
2 oz. TOPO Piedmont Gin
½ oz. Simple Syrup
2 Fresh Sprigs of Mint
Splash of Club Soda
Preparation:
Combine Piedmont Gin, simple syrup and mint in a shaker and shake until very cold. Charge with a splash of club soda and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Fiery Melon MartiniPiedmont Gin
Spicy Cucumber LemonadeTOPO Vodka
Peach FuzzTOPO Vodka
Tres ReyesCarolina Whiskey
The New FashionedCarolina Whiskey
South Side FizzPiedmont Gin
