Loggerhead Distillery Opening on 2nd Street

The idea of taking a liquid and then heating it up to create a vapor, all for the sake of turning it back into a liquid, seems like some crazy magic trick if you ask me. But that’s actually the process of distilling and how whiskey is made, therefore in my book, you can call Colby and Chris magicians – but they probably prefer the title “Distillers”. Although their original titles were Engineers, as that’s what both of their backgrounds are in and how they came to know each other, you could say science brought them together.

It wasn’t long after Colby and Chris began working together that they began to realize their shared passion for distilling and spirits. It took them less than a year to turn their chatter about owning a distillery into a reality.

They began doing loads and loads of research, business planning, breaking down the costs and, of course, searching for the perfect location…

Colby, a Sanfordite himself, grew up playing in Downtown Sanford where his Dad owned his own business and where he attended Middle School, All Souls Middle School to be exact.

Colby admits he’s never seen Sanford as progressive as it is right now and is excited to be a part of the growing and supportive community. With that said Colby invited Chris to Downtown Sanford for his first Sanford experience with the intentions of showing off all that Sanford has to offer, but Chris says that the moment he arrived in Sanford he instantly fell in love.

With a now mutual love for Sanford the two were in search for the perfect location right here. When they came across the building that sits at the corner of Oak and 2nd, which once housed an Auto Repair Shop and a Dry Cleaner in the late 60s, they immediately saw their future Distillery and just like that, their business journey took off. The brown paper went up on the windows and the reconstruction began .

They slaved over the removal of layers of linoleum and cement in order to reveal and restore the original white hexagon tiled floor which lines the main entrance and a portion of the distillery. They put in hours of hard labor for just over a year and on Friday, April 26th they will officially be opening their doors to the public.

Although they have already made their mark within the community participating in last weekend’s Mini Masters and holding tastings during other large events. The two are in awe of the way the community has welcomed them with open arms.

So what can you expect from Loggerhead Distillery, and wait a minute, what is Loggerhead anyway?

Loggerhead Distillery is named after the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. As a kid Colby enjoyed spending his Florida Summers at the beach and as a child found a Loggerhead skull – that image has always stuck with him (look closely at one of the two logos and you might spot a Loggerhead skull). Colby carries those memories of growing up in Florida with him now as an adult and as both guys share similar memories having both been born and raised in Florida they agreed the name is fitting.

Their hope is to bring awareness to the importance of caring for our sea life and will do so by donating a portion of sales to a to non-profits that have programs for ocean protection and cleanup.

These Florida men want to incorporate Florida in all aspects of their business, so you’re sure to experience the essence of Florida in their products by including — sugar cane, citrus, grains, and botanic to bring you the finest, smoothest spirits possible, so you can actually taste FLORIDA!!

Loggerhead will be sampling their craft rums, vodkas, gins and limited runs of whiskey which will include as many locally-sourced ingredients as they can get their hands on at their tasting bar, where you can then choose your favorite flavored bottle and take it home to share with friends.

The Distillery will be open for rental for private events which is to include private tours as well as in-depth talks about distilling, so if you’re looking for a unique place for your next gathering…look no further! The guys already have some things in the works, but are planning on hosting some pretty awesome special events, so be sure to follow them on Facebook so you don’t miss any of the amazing things that are to come at Loggerhead Distillery in Downtown Sanford. Welcome to Sanford, guys!