Sandy River Distillery sits on 147 Monroe Church Road in Rice, Virginia, a small farming community in Prince Edward County. Founded by Jim and Olivia Gerhold in 2018, this craft distillery emerged from Jim’s decades-long fascination with traditional American spirits and Olivia’s background in hospitality management. The Gerholds converted a portion of their rural property into a production facility and tasting room, creating one of the few craft distilleries in this part of central Virginia. Jim’s journey into distilling started as a serious hobby while he worked in construction management, spending weekends perfecting recipes and learning the science behind fermentation and distillation. After years of encouragement from friends and family who sampled his experimental batches, the couple decided to make it official. They installed a custom copper still system and began the lengthy process of federal and state licensing, finally opening their doors to the public in late 2018. The distillery focuses primarily on bourbon and moonshine, drawing from local corn and traditional Virginia recipes. You’ll find a straightforward operation here—no fancy marketing gimmicks, just careful attention to the fundamentals of grain-to-glass production. The tasting room occupies a converted barn space with exposed beams and a relaxed country atmosphere, where Jim often leads tastings himself and explains his process to curious visitors.