Discovering NC Agriculture is a social media series focusing on N.C. grown, raised, caught, and made commodities. Originally started in 2025, this series has been renewed to run for another year! Tune in each month to see how an N.C. commodity is grown, harvested, packed for consumer use and more. Learn nutritional value, find fun recipes to try, hear from local chefs who use that product, and other unique commodity facts throughout the series. We look forward to helping you better understand some of our N.C. commodities and how they impact your everyday lives!
North Carolina honey is used in a wide variety of products across the state and nation, including beer, wine and liquor. Durham Distillery, located on Washington Street in Durham, has been using local honey to make their spiced liqueur for several years and it has proven a hit for customers both on the rocks and in mixed drinks. From their Got to Be NC products to the way they support local beekeepers, Durham Distillery is a major player in our state’s agriculture and beverage industry.
Founded in 2013 and opened in 2015, Durham Distillery was a passion that turned into a career. Lee Katrincic, CEO and Co-founder of Durham Distillery, and his wife Melissa have loved gin for many years. In fact, Melissa grew up in a family of gin drinkers, and her grandfather would often feed her the olives from his gin martini. “Melissa was raised in a world that appreciated gin,” Lee said. “Her grandmother would often say ‘don’t have a conniption,” which is where the name for our Conniption Gin came from. She has fond memories of her loved ones drinking gin as well as drinking it herself once she turned 21.” After they were married, Melissa began to expose her husband, Lee, to gin across the world, which is where his love for the liquor began as well. “When the opportunity to start Durham Distillery was presented to us, we knew it was the right move for our family,” Lee said. “I was a working chemist in the pharmaceuticals industry, and my wife was in the pharmaceutical industry working on the business/marketing side, so together we already had a lot of the skills needed for the distilling business.” In 2015, Durham Distillery opened its doors with their gin products and have since created over ten more products to serve their customers.
To date, Durham Distillery offers twelve products to customers across the country, including four varieties of Conniption Gin, three Damn Fine Liqueurs, two vodka brands, two different canned cocktails, and their Krupnikas Honey Liqueur. “We got into this business to make gin, so the Conniption series are our flagship products and continue to be at the heart of what we do,” Lee said. “However, the other products have helped us diversify the business and expand our customer base.” With two chemistry degrees and a physics degree between the two of them, Lee and Melissa took a highly scientific approach to making their products, an approach that continues to help their products stand out in the market today. “In the early years of starting the company, we did a lot of experimentation with botanicals to determine what the distillate of each of them tastes like on their own,” Lee said. “From there, we really leaned into our background and what we knew of creating liquor products to establish the four gin flavors that we have today: American Dry, Kinship, Navy Strength, and Barrel Aged.” Each of their gins have unique recipes, but their differentiator is the use of cold vacuum distillation. They were the first gin in the country to be made using a combination of pot distillation and vacuum distillation of delicate botanicals to preserve their flavor. This pioneering of gin production and track record of award-winning gins earned them both a place in the prestigious Gin Guild in England in 2018, being only the 4th and 5th members inducted from the United States.
To start the gin making process, Lee and Melissa purchase their corn-based ethanol from a loyal supplier and place it in a pot with their botanicals. “We use vapor distillation, which allows the botanicals to sit on a tray above liquid level, resulting in an over better mouth-feel”, Lee said. “From there, we put everything into a tank and combine them with any vacuum distilled botanicals.” The botanicals that are more delicate, like cucumber or flowers, must be cold distilled instead of placed in the still, where the heat would ruin their flavor. Their gin products include a mixture of both types of distillates. “All of our gin comes out of the both stills at 90% ABV,” Lee said. “We have a high-quality deionized water filtration system that provides us with super clean water that we then use to cut the alcohol level down to 40% for bottling.” All their liquor products can be enjoyed either neat/on the rocks or in a mixed drink. If you’re looking for ideas, check out the recipes on their website, many of which Lee and Melissa created themselves!
Perhaps the most unique product created at Durham Distillery is their Krupnikas Honey Liqueur, a traditional spiced honey liqueur with a local twist. “The Brothers Vilgalys were the original creators of the Krupnikas Honey Liqueur,” Lee said. “The founder, Rim Vilgalys, came to us several years ago when he wanted to move on from the beverage alcohol industry. He wanted Krupnikas to “live on” as he moved onto a different career path. So, we agreed to buy his equipment and continue making his product using his methodology in the exact same way that he did, using the same recipe with local honey.” Krupnikas Honey Liqueur used wildflower honey sourced by Cloister Honey, with honey from both North Carolina and South Carolina. Lee and Melissa work with local beekeepers across the states to purchase as much honey as they can for the year. “Each batch of Krupnikas Honey Liqueur has 300 pounds of honey in it,” Lee said. “Each bottle is actually 1/3 honey and contains twelve different spices to give it that unique and delicious flavor.” After the water has been heated up, the spices are added in and allowed to simmer for five hours. Once complete, the spice bags are removed from the mixture, and the honey is blended in with the spices and ethanol to make the final product. “We love this product because it allows us to support farmers across our state and truly tell the story of this region through a drink that people enjoy,” Lee said. “It brings us a lot of pride to be a part of this larger ecosystem of excellence in North Carolina agriculture.” If you are looking for a unique way to enjoy Krupnikas Honey Liqueur, Lee recommends trying their “Bee’s Knees” cocktail recipe on their website, which features a bold citrus and honey flavor.
Products from Durham Distillery can be purchased at ABC Stores throughout the state, especially in the Triangle Area. Lee recommends calling your local ABC Store to check on products from their distillery, as they are not located in every single store across the state. Durham Distillery works with a partner to fulfill out-of-state shipments, so bottles can be ordered through their website and shipped to specific states (not NC). Bottles can be purchased on-site at the distillery, or enjoyed at various bars and restaurants across the state, including their own onsite cocktail bar: Conniption Bar and Lounge (formerly Corpse Reviver), in an old coffin shop below the distillery. In fact, Durham Distillery recently launched a new venture at RDU Airport! “In October 2025, we opened Conniption Cocktails and Cuisine in Terminal 2 at RDU airport. It is a full-service restaurant and bar with a heavy focus on cocktails with our products,” Lee said. “Our goal is to enhance the airport cocktail experience for people every day.” The most famous cocktail they offer to date at that location is a Sub-Zero Martini, which is freezer to glass. Be sure to try one next time you find yourself at the RDU Airport!
We are so proud of all that Lee and Melissa are doing through Durham Distillery to bring local products to the community, as well as support beekeepers across our state. Follow along on their website and social media pages for more information, fun recipes, product updates, and events for you to enjoy with friends and family. There’s nothing quite like drinking in the story of North Carolina agriculture!
