Q: Who is Pennington Distilling Company and what should we know about you?
Pennington Distilling Company was founded in 2011 by local husband and wife team, Jeff and Jenny Pennington. With 41 National Spirits Awards to date, Pennington Distilling Company crafts the finest in Tennessee Whiskey, vodka and sipping cream. From hand selecting local famers, gathering the best non-GMO grains, to aging whiskey in oak barrels, combined with their unique and flavorful spirit recipes a “grain to glass“ distillery. Pennington Distilling Company has worked diligently to bring the finest alcoholic beverages to the ever-changing and highly competitive spirits industry.
The Pennington Distilling Company family of brands includes: Davidson Reserve, our long-awaited Tennessee Whiskey which is Nashville’s first locally-distilled four year old Tennessee whiskey since Prohibition. It takes Three proprietary mash bills to create our Davidson Reservefamily- Tennessee Straight Sour Mash Whiskey; Tennessee Straight Rye Whiskey; Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Four Grain Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Genesis Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Pickers Original Vodka with additional fruit-infused flavors that include Blueberry, Blood Orange, and Pineapple; Pickers Unplugged Vodka Soda in assorted low calorie, zero carbohydrate, and gluten-free flavors; Pickers Crafted Cocktails in assorted flavors; Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream, (Cream Liqueur made with Tennessee Whiskey) available in Whisper Creek Original, Mocha, Peanut Butter Chocolate and Pumpkin Spice Flavors; and Walton’s Finest Vodka which is named after Jenny’s father and made with 100% Tennessee red winter wheat.
Recent Award-winning highlights in the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition include: Walton’s Vodka and Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whisky both received the coveted Double Gold Medals. Pickers Original Vodka received an impressive Gold Medal as did Davidson Reserve Tennessee Whiskey Single Barrel
Pennington Distilling Company has also been featured in local, regional and national media outlets as well in best-selling books such as Big Whiskey: Kentucky Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey, the Rebirth of Rye, and the Distilleries of America’s Premier Spirits Region by Carlo DeVito (2018).
Located in The Nations, Pennington Distilling Company offers distillery tours and tasting room experiences, retail bottle and gift shop, as well as meeting and event space. Pennington Distilling Company is located at 900 44th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37209. Hours are: Tuesday – Saturday- 11 to 5, last tour begins at 4:00. Sunday – noon to 5, last tour begins at 4:00.
Q: What’s the best thing about doing business in Middle Tennessee?
Middle Tennessee is a great place to live, work and make Tennessee Whiskey.
Q: What best business practices have you learned from 2020 and what did you do to be creative to remain in business?
Making adjustments during a pandemic was creating and making our FRESH Hand Sanitizer. What started out as an opportunity to fill a small, local need turned into an opportunity to fulfill a much larger, national need for sanitizer. To date, we have had the pleasure of donating over 10,000 gallons of sanitizer to our Nashville community. That equates to over $250,000. As the desperate need for sanitizer has diminished, we still have sanitizer for sale in the bottle shop.
Q: What has been the most valuable aspect of your Chamber membership?
Networking and Chamber programs are the most valuable aspect of our membership.
Q: What is unique about your business that makes you stand out?
We are a family owned and “grain to glass“ distillery.
Q: What’s your biggest goal for your company this year?
Recover from 2020, launch new products and make great Tennessee Whiskey.
Q: What’s your best piece of advice for other business owners?
Love what you do and build a solid team that loves what they do.
Q: How do you stay involved in the community?
In addition to supporting non-profit events, PDC gives back by:
- $1 per Pickers bottle sales in all live music venues goes to Music Health Alliance
- $1 per Pickers bottle sales at Double Dog locations goes to Nashville Humane Association
- $3 per Walton’s bottle sales goes to American Cancer Society
- Left over corn mash is donated to local farmers to feed their cows and pigs
- Program that includes several local murals painted by local artist featuring local music artists
Learn more about Pennington Distilling Company at their website here.
