Fast-growing Corsair prepares to open new distillery

Riding high on the success of its innovative spirits, Corsair Distillery has major expansion plans in the works for the Nashville market.

The 7-year-old company –- which produces hand-crafted, small-batch spirits and has emerged as a national leader in the craft spirits market –- plans to open a new 11,000-square-foot facility with 2,850 gallons of still capacity in Wedgewood-Houston by the end of August. The distillery at 601 Merritt Ave. will have a tasting room open to the public.

But Corsair’s growth doesn’t stop there.

Also in the works is a second Wedgewood-Houston facility slated for a summer 2016 opening. The 22,500-square-foot building at 1236 Martin St. will house a 660-gallon brandy still, a tasting room and will be used for production and storage.

“We love there were so many artists (in Wedgewood-Houston) and you have all these people working on motorcycles or building guitars. …It’s this funky little area, and we really liked how creative it was, and we really wanted to get in there,” said Darek Bell, Corsair co-founder.

Bell and Corsair co-founder Andrew Webber, both Nashville natives, launched the company in 2008 in Bowling Green, Ky. What started as a two-person operation with 2,500 square feet and a 50-gallon still has blossomed into a 24-employee company that will soon occupy 47,000 square feet across six facilities with more than 5,000 gallons of still capacity.

National accolades such as being honored as one of Fast Company Magazine’s most innovative companies of 2015 have only added fuel to the fire for a business that thinks outside the box when it comes to distilling techniques and recipes.

Using grains such as quinoa and buckwheat along with techniques used by brewers, Corsair has won nearly 100 medals at international spirits competitions, according to the company’s website. Spirits include triple smoke whiskey, cherry smoked bourbon, quinoa whiskey, barrel-aged gin, red absinthe, spiced rum and vanilla bean vodka, among others.

The company’s existing Nashville facility opened in 2010 in the former Yazoo Brewing space at Marathon Village. Corsair added another 1,000 square feet to that facility one year after opening and it now has 1,100 gallons of still capacity.

Last year, the company opened a malting facility on a family farm in Bells Bend, where raw grains are converted into finished malt for brewing and distilling in a “grain-to-glass” process. Most recently, the company planted 12 acres of grapes at the farm with eventual plans to open a 10,000-square-foot winery and distillery at 4581 Cleeces Ferry Road.

“This is just another initiative and Bells Bend -- it’s where I grew up and spent a lot of time out there -- will be a beautiful place for us to take people on tours,” Bell said.

The various expansions across Middle Tennessee are largely due to the tight real estate market and the difficulty finding a reasonably priced and sizable facility in the right location, Bell said. Corsair, which has been completely maxed out on capacity, purchased its two Wedgewood-Houston properties for about $1.38 million, property records show.

“The two new Wedgewood-Houston facilities are going to really increase our capacity,” Bell said.

Corsair's spirits are distributed in 30 states nationally and seven countries internationally, with plans to expand into seven more states by the end of 2015.

Bell -- who said Corsair was born out of his and Webber’s passion for home brewing beer and then experimenting with making biodiesel -- said he’s humbled by the company’s continued growth and recognition.

“We were very, very modest in what we wanted to do. We just wanted to do what we were having fun doing," Bell said. "This dream has gone way beyond what I ever imagined.”

Reach Lizzy Alfs at 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.