On your left is Corsair Artisan Distillery… or at least, the spot where Corsair’s Bowling Green chapter once ran. If you could rewind to January of 2008, you’d catch that early craft-spirits energy in the air: part curiosity, part hustle, part “let’s see if this works.” You can almost imagine the warm, grainy smell drifting out-sweet mash, a little smoke, and that sharp, clean bite of alcohol that says, “Yep, somebody’s making something real in there.”
Corsair was started by Derek Bell and Andrew Webber-childhood friends who first messed around brewing beer and wine in Bell’s garage. The turning point came from a completely different project: they were tinkering with a biodiesel plant prototype, hit some snags, and Webber basically said, “What if we make whiskey instead?” Classic American pivot.
They built Corsair’s reputation on an “Innovate or Die” mindset-meaning they didn’t just make bourbon and call it a day. They went experimenting with grains like quinoa, buckwheat, spelt, and triticale, plus smoked and malted styles, barrel-aged gin, red absinthe, naturally flavored vodka, and spiced rum. One of their oddballs-quinoa whiskey-was even featured on the TV show Chopped. Because of course it was.
Corsair eventually expanded hard in Nashville, becoming the first legal craft distillery there since Prohibition, and this Bowling Green location closed in 2018 as they focused on national reach. By then, they’d reportedly racked up over 800 competition medals… which is a lot of shiny validation for two guys who started in a garage.
When you’re ready, the Downtown Commercial District is a 1-minute walk heading southwest, and it’ll be on your left.
