Firefly Distillery turns 20: A toast to two decades

Firefly Distillery, North Charleston’s beloved distillery, celebrates its milestone with live music, local eats, and a nod to its iconic Sweet Tea Vodka.

A wide-angle view of Firefly Distillery in North Charleston, South Carolina, featuring a modern barn-style building with gray siding and red-framed windows. The main entrance is marked by a large “FIREFLY” sign above the doorway. Several people are walking around the front walkway and sitting under large yellow shade sails in an outdoor area. The distillery is surrounded by well-maintained landscaping and greenery under a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Firefly is not only a working distillery, but a major concert venue for national touring acts.

Photo provided by Firefly Distillery

Celebrating the anniversary of a local business is always a reason to raise a glass — but when that business is Firefly Distillery turning 20? That’s worth a toast (or two).

To mark the occasion, the North Charleston distillery is throwing a anniversary celebration on Saturday, April 19, from 12 to 4 p.m., and it’s free to attend. The party will pay tribute to its sweet tea roots.

Guests can expect live music from Derek Cribb, a sweet tea cocktail-making competition, a barrel ring toss, food trucks, and drink specials.

A sip of history

Firefly Distillery was born from the friendship of Scott Newitt and Jim Irvin, who had the bold idea to bottle the South’s favorite beverage: sweet tea. In 2008, they launched the first-ever Sweet Tea Vodka — the rest is history.

Since then, the distillery has released 39 new products, relocated from its original site on Wadmalaw Island to a larger space in North Charleston, bottled over 10 million spirits, and welcomed more than 80,000 concertgoers.

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