Corsair Distillery Enhances Marathon Motors' Taproom Tradition

As with its predecessor, Corsair Distillery does not boldly announce its operations in the Marathon Motor Company building on 12th Avenue North. Aside from a lack of lines and no growler fills, the distillery kept the tasting room close to its old appearance. It fit the Music City Beer Society perfectly.

Corsair pours most Yazoo flavors, and fleshed out its lineup with a disparate group of craft brews -- the fine, spicy Pumpkinfest and Moo-Hoo Stout from Terrapin, BBC Nut Brown, Avery's White Rascal, Scrimshaw Pilsner for those accustomed to light beer and a few others I already forgot. They've added a few sandwiches to the limited menu from the Yazoo days.

The space looked a lot different in another aspect. because nonsensical state liquor laws require a separate room for whiskey pouring, Corsair has nearly completed construction on a stylish whiskey tasting lounge with a dark wood bar and soft mood lighting.

The brief tour illuminating many elements of distilling. Corsair only uses its barrels once, with donors going to Yazoo for beers like their recent batch of barrel-aged Sue porter.

The bottling line and other distilling operations continue in Bowling Green. But the Nashville site has some perks, mainly its pre-Prohibition copper still.

Since the mash is essentially beer until it enters the distiller, Corsair plans to experiment with Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout and has already distilled a whiskey using Left Hand Warrior IPA. Watching these experiments take off adds a thrill to the small-batch distilling trend.

Plus, the tour guide gave me an answer to the cork problem. For most of the summer, the two-piece cork on every Corsair bottle I touched separated. They assured me the problem has been fixed, and frustrated them just as much as the consumer. With so many craft spirits hitting the market, a little problem could weigh a ton and distract from Corsair's superb wares.

The taproom held onto the comfortable atmosphere present on uncrowded Yazoo nights, but without the hipsters or young yuppies weened on Blue Moon and Arrogant Bastard.