Wild Leap Atlanta sits in the heart of downtown at 125 Ted Turner Drive, occupying a sleek 10,000-square-foot space that serves as both brewery and distillery. Founded by Anthony Rodriguez and Chris Elliott, who started Wild Leap Brew Co. in LaGrange, Georgia in 2014, this Atlanta location opened in 2019 as their urban expansion into distilling. The duo transformed from craft beer pioneers into spirits producers, bringing their fermentation expertise to bourbon, rye, and gin production alongside their core brewing operations.
Rodriguez, a former homebrewer turned professional, and Elliott, who left corporate finance to chase the craft beverage dream, spent years perfecting their brewing before diving into distillation. Their Atlanta facility houses custom copper stills from Vendome Copper & Brass Works, the same Kentucky company that builds equipment for major bourbon producers. Head distiller Matt Neal, who came from ASW Distillery, oversees production of their bourbon and rye whiskeys, which age in 53-gallon barrels sourced from Independent Stave Company.
The space feels more like an industrial taproom than a traditional distillery, with exposed brick, polished concrete floors, and floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the production area with natural light. You can watch the distillation process while sipping cocktails made from their spirits, and the brewery side keeps things lively with rotating taps of IPAs and sours. It’s positioned as Atlanta’s first combination brewery-distillery, though they’re still young enough that most of their aged spirits are just hitting maturity.
