Inspiring Conversations with Beth Faulkner of End of Days Distillery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Faulkner.

Hi Beth, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
End of Days Distillery is a craft distillery devoted to producing ultra-premium spirits, which opened on February 1st, 2020. As Wilmington’s first distillery with tours and tastings, we wanted to offer something special to our tourist town and culturally rich city. We took a dilapidated Quonset hut built in the 1940s in the historic Castle Street district. We turned it into our working distillery that houses a 1000-gallon mash tun, a 500-gallon pot still, and a rick house with approximately 140 barrels of our aging spirits. In addition, we have a cocktail lounge that allows our customers to enjoy our spirits while taking a tour or spending an evening out. Thanks to NC House Bill 290 which passed in 2019, we can sell unlimited spirits from the distillery and are also in NC ABC Distribution. We also benefitted from HB 890, which allowed Sunday Bottle Sales, another true game changer for our industry.

Our initial launch to market was our Port of Entry Series which includes Vodka, Rum & Gin. Our vodka is 7 times distilled and made from corn, an NC commodity. The Rum is made with blackstrap molasses and raw sugar cane. Our perfectly balanced Gin is made with 13 botanicals, including a local native Hawthorn Berry. Our portfolio has expanded to include our Castaway Series, Barrel Rested Rum & Gin. In addition, we have our Survivor’s Cut series, which includes Whisky, Bourbon, and American Single Malts. We are extremely proud to have brought the first Butterfly Pea Flower Gin to market in NC with Luna Bloom. This is also one of the first butterfly pea flower gins in the United States. We also have our ready-to-drink canned cocktail series, our Hurricane Warning (made with our Port of Entry Rum, Passion Fruit, and Citrus), Cargo Mule (made with Port of Entry Vodka and Ginger), and our Gin and Tonic (made with Port of Entry Gin and our housemade tonic syrup). Even with this expansive list, we still have other exciting spirits in development. We have partnered with a local Wilmington-based branding company, Creature Theory, to bring End of Days” distinct style to life. Each of our Port of Entry spirits includes a segment of the Wilmington Riverfront illustrated on the back label. Therefore, when you put all 3 bottles together, you have the entire Riverfront. This was one clever way to highlight our amazing city to our customers since these spirits are enjoyed locally, all over North Carolina, and beyond.

Many people ask, how did you come up with your name, End of Days? The name was born after an evening of conversation around a backyard fire, where Founder Shane Faulkner and friends shared stories and passed a bottle of something special. He noticed that many stories about love, life, kids, and the future concluded with “At the end of the day,” which perfectly summed up the situation and conversation. At the end of the day, who do you want to be? How do you want to be remembered? What’s your mark on the world? What do you reflect on? What are you proud of? What will you remember? These are all part of what End of Days Distillery stands for.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Our grand opening on February 1st was a huge success, with Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo coming for the ribbon cutting, and we had an estimated 2500 people visit that day. We continued to be overwhelmed with tremendous support and experienced unexpected bottle sales. Within 45 days of opening, though, we faced the global COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic injury to follow. Our lounge, a huge financial source, was forced to close on March 17th. We saw the potential need for hand sanitizer at the outset and began swiftly immobilizing the resources needed to help the community. Within a few short days, what seemed like a possible need, became a dire nationwide shortage. The required materials, like bottles, tops, and spritzers, took a lot of work. Still, we could source the needed material for distribution through persistence and working with as many local vendors as possible. We immediately began providing sanitizer free of charge to the public and had a line wrapped around our building for days on end. In addition, we were contacted by small businesses, hospitals, and organizations in critical fields, including first responders. Due to the local media coverage, which was extensive, we were picked up by the Associated Press and media outlets across the United States. Subsequently, we began filling orders nationwide and even to hard-hit locations such as New York and New Jersey. The overwhelming demand for orders allowed us to continue to fund our humanitarian effort to provide free sanitization to those in need in our community. Many local breweries also stepped up and donated beer so that we could extract the alcohol through distillation. As a new business of just 45 days, we were not eligible for PPP or SBA Economic Injury Loans.

Yet, with our COVID Innovation, we could keep all our staff and continue growing during a tough time. In addition to the need for hand sanitizer, we were shocked at the demand for liquor. Even though we had been successful with our bottle sales pre-COVID, we sold more bottles the two weeks after March 17th than the six weeks prior. This made us realize we are in a unique industry with unlimited growth potential. Our COVID Innovation expanded beyond hand sanitizer to finding ways to increase online sales, pre-orders, and curbside service. This led to the creation of to-go cocktails, which became extremely popular and continue to do well today. Thankfully, we were allowed to open in Phase 2 and began to allow guests to enter our space as a much-needed reprieve amidst the stresses of a pandemic.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My name is Beth Faulkner. I am the co-founder of my husband, Shane. Shane and I have been entrepreneurs for most of the 26 years we have been married. Locally born and raised in North Carolina, I greatly appreciate unique flavors, cultures, and a distinct eye for interior decoration and design. I work closely with merchandise and EOD Branding. Turning our Quonset hut into a gorgeous building that won the 2022 Gertrude S. Carraway Award by Preservation North Carolina is a true joy. As with any small business, my tasks are varied and touch on many aspects. Without question, though, our company is made up of a large team of extremely talented individuals that play an integral role in the success of EOD. I am incredibly proud that we took a huge leap, followed a dream, survived a pandemic, thrived and continue to grow. We just recently celebrated our 3rd anniversary and proudly have a current portfolio of 9 spirits plus 3 ready to drink canned cocktails, most of which are national and international award winners. We have also begun national distributorship through Spirit Hub.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Raleigh has some of the best restaurants and cocktail bars in the state. It boasts many amazing green spaces and has a large population of professionals looking to enjoy something special and craft. Many Triangle visitors visit the Distillery for tours and return home looking to find our spirits in their favorite bars and restaurants. We want to continue our presence in this amazing city and expand our hold on the spirits industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eoddistillery.com
• Instagram: eoddistillery
• Facebook: eoddistillery
• Linkedin: End of Days Distillery

Image Credits
Matt Ray Photography