TOPO brews local, organic spirits in Chapel Hill

TOPO, tucked in a warehouse behind the Chapel Hills News building on Franklin Street, produces produces Carolina Whiskey, TOPO Vodka and Piedmont Gin. All are made organically and use local ingredients. While the whiskey and vodka are 100 percent local, the gin is about 99.8 percent because they haven't been able to find juniper berries from a local farmer yet.

The distillery's process is similar to a brewery. There are machines that filter the product to various stations. They use a continuous column and pot still to help make low wines, the first step to making whiskey or vodka. The use distilling plates after that. 

About 4,000 pounds of wheat can create 500 liters of vodka and 700 liters of whiskey.  

The result is a smooth vodka that has a slightly sweet taste, making it drinkable by itself or mixed. The whiskey is also more drinkable with its vanilla tones.The natural flavors of the ingredients also come out in the gin.  

Don't expect TOPO to start offering "flavored" spirits like marshmallow or peanut butter and jelly, Maitland said. They'd rather stick to offering a tasty product that isn't masked by anything. 

On the horizon, Maitland hopes to produce local and organic sorghum rum and whiskey cream.