These words are as dynamic and personal, as they are resolute and collective. For North Carolinians, these concepts were brought to life as two robed women, Liberty and Plenty, in the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina many years ago. Today, these women are the protagonists of Our Story.
In the image, Liberty stands holding in one hand a pole from which is hanging the phrygian cap, and in the other, a scroll with “Constitution” written across it. Plenty is seated, looking toward Liberty, with one arm extended holding three heads of grain, with her other hand resting atop an overflowing cornucopia. Behind the women, beyond the verdant land, are hills rising toward the blue sky. And on the horizon is a three-masted ship plying the Atlantic.
History presents Liberty and Plenty as the custodians of the land and the possibilities that it offers, and as responsible for a greater force – a current that unifies people. That responsibility asks that we appreciate and cultivate abundance, and inspires us to find shared aspirations in our communities so that we can achieve common goals. It is an elegant and proud reminder of the relationship between shared vision and abundance.
We must reimagine and reinterpret Liberty and Plenty for our world today, but to us their meaning is timeless, and they form two foundational values of the distillery: aspiration and abundance.
“Each glass of Liberty & Plenty is a tribute to aspiration and abundance.”
Liberty & Plenty was founded in March 2020 as a solely woman-owned craft distillery with a bedrock of vision, gratitude, purpose and abundance, and with curiosity as its heartbeat. After two years of dedicated and careful planning, and stocked with decades of inspiration and know-how, we opened our distillery and tasting room doors in October 2022 in Durham, North Carolina.
At Liberty & Plenty, our aim is pretty simple: we want to expand upon the spirits conversation by presenting unique takes on classic expressions of vodka, rums, gins, bourbon and whiskey. We’ll do that by blending tradition and excellence with inspired innovation, and with a commitment to creating timeless spirits that reflect the uniqueness of our communities, our selves, and our aspirations. As we do that, we aim to be a purpose-driven business, aligning our brands with the concerns and aspirations of our communities, both inside and outside of the tasting room.
At the helm of the distillery is Tina Williford. She has always been insatiably curious. Some have described that curiosity as helium in her veins, while others have described it as an entrepreneurial mindset for innovation. Tina, on the other hand, wouldn’t make much out of it at all – it’s so deeply embedded in who she is that it’s not just one approach to life, but it’s a fixed filter through which she experiences the world. That curiosity and passion for the alcohol beverage industry led her to distilling.
Liberty & Plenty Distillery is the culmination of that curiosity and many experiences. Inside of the distillery, our Liberty & Plenty Cocktail Bar, and our products are the influences of family, vegetable gardens, and experimentation with acid and spices. There is also a lifetime of work within the wine industry, a growing family, a couple of Master’s degrees and continuous learning. All of those experiences and more came together in 2017, leading to Liberty & Plenty, as it is today.
Our Story
October 2022
We blended our first finishing casks our first sourced batches of Bourbon Whiskey and Rye Whiskey, and with much excitement, opened the doors of our Tasting & Cocktail Bar at 609 Foster Street.
August 2022
City inspectors and the fire marshal approved us for production as a distillery and the first Heritage corn bourbon, Jimmy Red whiskey and rum distillations were completed and barreled under the Liberty & Plenty banner.
March 2022
Our first proprietary recipe of Guatemalan rum was produced, and 18 barrels put down to mature.
March 2022
We purchased lots of Matured Bourbon and Whiskey stocks, and began working with growers in North Carolina in the Northeast USA to cultivate heritage grains to be used in the production of bourbon and whiskey lines for Liberty & Plenty proprietary blends.
March 2020
Visit to Durham to survey a 250 gallon Vendome Pot still and were awe struck by the historic building that housed it. We purchased our second piece of equipment that day, and left with the hope that we would return.
2017
Tina Williford decided that it was time to become a producer of spirits, after having worked in almost every other area of BevAlc. She uprooted her life in North Carolina, and moved to Scotland to obtain her MSc in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“We are here to make spirits, but there is more to do. It is just the start of a ripple in the glass.”
Our core business is to make spirits, but our purpose extends beyond the glass. One of our core missions at Liberty & Plenty is to give back to the community through initiatives that are in alignment with our purpose and vision. That’s not empty talk – it’s built into our business model and the products that we produce. In fact, half of our spirits lines are what we call “purposeful spirits/purposeful brands/purpose-driven brands”. Those product lines are specifically designed to lift up humans in our communities.
Serving people beyond the tasting room gives us a broader vision and a bigger game to play, and serves as a reminder of the privilege that we have to be present in our communities, and the responsibility that we have to earn and maintain the trust of our communities, the industry and our customers.
Purposeful Brands
We have designed two brands to serve a purpose beyond the desire to bring spirits to people for their enjoyment, and beyond the need to generate profit.
Gracious Garden Spirits
Gracious Garden Spirits supports initiatives that address the problem of food insecurity. Our inaugural focus will be community gardens and gardeners.
Slate Belt Spirits
Slate Belt Spirits supports initiatives to train and uplift future tradespeople.
Ambition
There are so many exceptional examples of purposeful brands and foundations from which we draw inspiration, particularly those within our industry. As we articulate and grow our initiatives and programs, we will listen to those who have successfully and meaningfully delivered on their purpose. In addition, we will solicit and listen to input from community members, our peers and friends in the beverage alcohol industry, and institutional actors. This listening, learning and iterating is essential to delivering impact, and we are committed to sharing information about our initiatives openly over time, including our process for selecting or designing initiatives related to our Purposeful Brands.
Our Purpose
Our Values
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Delivering small batches of outstanding spirits is our core business, but we see our purpose as extending beyond the glass. Our ambition is to make spirits with a broader vision by giving back in a small way to our communities through concrete and transparent actions.
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Curiosity drives us to discover, innovate, improve and excel – within ourselves, in our relationships with others, and in our craft. It is a core value and an essential part of our fabric.
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Aspiration to dream, courage to try, determination to execute and realize, and the openness and flexibility to iterate and evolve.
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North Carolina is our home. The home of our distilleries in Durham and Wendell, and another planned facility in Wilson. It has given much to us, and we owe it much in return. We are committed to representing and celebrating North Carolina and our communities through a product of excellence, passion and purpose.
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We aim to center and communicate gratitude for this moment, for opportunity, family and friends, for our communities, and the will to create.
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We are proud to be a solely woman-owned and led business, and to be a small part of a larger and important movement that writes women back into the story of distillation locally, nationally and globally.