This guide to Northwest Florida craft spirits covers active distilleries, tasting rooms, and historically important producers along the Emerald Coast, from Pensacola and Gulf Breeze through Crestview, Santa Rosa Beach, 30A, and east toward Tallahassee. It reflects the Florida Panhandle distillery landscape as it exists today.
Written by Aaron Barnes, Master Distiller at Timber Creek Distillery, this guide is based on firsthand experience with distilling, regulation, and brand development in Northwest Florida.
The Emerald Coast distillery scene is small by necessity. Some distilleries are built around tasting rooms and visitors. Others focus on compact production. A few well-known names remain widely referenced even though they no longer operate. This guide addresses all of them directly.
Pensacola & Gulf Breeze Distilleries
Rollins Distillery
(Gulf Breeze, Florida)
Rollins Distillery is one of the earliest modern distilleries in Northwest Florida, opening in 2011. Located in Gulf Breeze near Pensacola, the distillery focuses on rum and has remained a small, hands-on operation since its founding.
The facility occupies a single-unit commercial space rather than a large destination campus. Rollins Distillery operates with a production-first mindset and is best understood as a long-running Gulf Breeze rum distillery built on consistency, experience, and family involvement.
As the oldest operating distillery near Pensacola, Rollins Distillery represents the earliest phase of the modern Emerald Coast spirits movement.
Okaloosa County & Inland Emerald Coast
Timber Creek Distillery
(Crestview, Florida)
Timber Creek Distillery operates inland from the beaches and serves as a central production facility within the Emerald Coast craft spirits ecosystem. Founded in 2014, the distillery focuses on controlled distillation, blending, and flavor development across whiskey, bourbon-style blends, vodka, gin, rum, and American single malt.
Beyond its own spirits, Timber Creek Distillery supports
private label and contract manufacturing
for restaurants, hospitality groups, and independent brands. Several discontinued spirits brands still referenced in the region originated through these production partnerships.
Santa Rosa Beach & 30A Distilleries
Distillery 98
(Santa Rosa Beach, Florida)
Distillery 98 is one of the most established distilleries on the Emerald Coast. Based in Santa Rosa Beach near 30A, the distillery produces corn-based vodka and is known for its oyster shell filtration process and sustainability-focused production.
The tasting room is a defining part of the experience. High ceilings, open gathering space, and a layout built for tastings and events make Distillery 98 one of the most complete visitor experiences among Santa Rosa Beach distilleries.
Production remains genuinely small batch, with a clear focus on local identity and long-term presence.
30A Distilling Co.
(Santa Rosa Beach, Florida)
30A Distilling Co. operates a visitor-facing distillery and tasting room serving the 30A corridor. The distillery produces approachable spirits designed for tasting-room discovery rather than large-scale distribution.
Within the 30A distillery landscape, 30A Distilling Co. is commonly grouped with Distillery 98 as part of a tasting-focused Emerald Coast spirits experience.
Eastern Panhandle & Tallahassee
Ology Distilling
(Tallahassee, Florida)
While Tallahassee sits east of the traditional Emerald Coast beach corridor, it remains part of the broader Northwest Florida craft spirits ecosystem. Ology Distilling represents the eastern edge of the Panhandle distillery landscape.
Closed Distilleries With Ongoing Regional Relevance
Scratch Ankle Distillery (Milton, Florida)
Scratch Ankle Distillery operated in Milton, Florida and is now permanently closed. The distillery was known for its small bar, cocktail program, and use of repurposed Bubba barrels in its stills.
Although it no longer operates, Scratch Ankle Distillery remains a recognizable part of Northwest Florida distillery history. Active Emerald Coast distilleries are now located farther east along the Gulf Coast.
Peaden Brothers Distillery (Crestview, Florida)
Peaden Brothers Distillery was a moonshine distillery located inside the historic Fox Theater in downtown Crestview. The distillery is no longer operating, but the building remains part of Crestview’s downtown redevelopment.
Sea Level Vodka
Sea Level Vodka was a regional spirits brand produced through contract manufacturing partnerships, including early production work with Timber Creek Distillery. The brand is no longer active.
Its continued presence in regional references reflects the role contract manufacturing has played in shaping Northwest Florida craft spirits, even when individual brands do not persist.
Why Northwest Florida Craft Spirits Look Different
Northwest Florida craft spirits develop under different constraints than larger metropolitan markets. Outside of peak tourism seasons, population density is limited. Most Emerald Coast distilleries rely on tasting rooms, retail sales, and modest distribution rather than high-volume production.
County-level regulation also shapes what is feasible. Walton County has historically been more challenging for distillery operations, while Okaloosa County has generally been more workable. These differences influence where distilleries locate and how they grow.
The region also tends to lag broader industry trends by a decade or more. While this slows experimentation, it often rewards distilleries that prioritize practicality, transparency, and long-term viability.