Nelson's Neighborhood

Annually on Tax Day, April 15th, Americans are either celebrating their tax return or drowning their tax day sorrows with a cocktail. This year on April 15, 2014, Firefly Distillery is celebrating for a sweeter reason as Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka turns six years old. This milestone is one that its creators, Jim Irvin and Scott Newitt, are proud of, and invite the public for rare “behind the scenes” VIP distillery tours to fans once an hour from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Firefly Distillery on Wadmalaw Island. These free tours will be given by Firefly co-creator Jim Irvin and production manager Jay Macmurphy. Created in a small still in 2008, Firefly became the world’s first hand-crafted sweet tea vodka. Firefly is distilled four times, infused with tea grown at the Charleston Tea Plantation, and blended with real Louisiana sugar cane. Firefly is a favorite around the nation and continues to “fly” off store shelves locally, nationally, and internationally. Nationally, Firefly D...

Firefly Distillery co-founders Jim Irvin and Scott Newitt announce the launch of Firefly Moonshine! Distilled out of South Carolina pride, Firefly Moonshine is a raw southern spirit from the creators of the original Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. Firefly Moonshine is produced in six flavors: White Lightning, Apple Pie, Caramel, Cherry, Strawberry, and Peach. They are between 41.1 and 100.7 proof; 20.55% and 50.35% alcohol by volume.  Each has a unique flavor that delivers on low country character yet packs a punch. Jim Irvin and Scott Newitt have been experimenting with lots of regional flavors ever since they built their first homemade still. When Jim and Scott started building the Firefly Distillery, they made a crude still in Jim's workshop. As Jim tells it, "We started with a 55 gallon stainless steel tank and some old pipes. Then we worked on many original recipes until we perfected the very first sweet tea vodka, Firefly. Since that time, we've cooked up many fine spirit...