Doc Porter's Distillery, Charlotte

You've probably heard of a farm-to-table restaurant. What about a grain-to-glass distillery? That's the guiding principle behind Doc Porter's Distillery, which was named after founder Andrew Porter's grandfather.

The distillery crafts spirits using local ingredients and a slow, flavor-intensive process. Made from grains grown just outside of Charlotte and milled on site, the vodka is fermented, distilled, filtered through activated carbon, and cut with reverse-osmosis-filtered Carolina water. Bourbon is made from a blend of corn, wheat and malted barley and aged in American white oak barrels. And contemporary style gin features notes of cucumber, chamomile, grapefruit, and cardamom. Tours give visitors a chance to explore the distillery and learn about its processes while sampling the grain-to-glass products for themselves.