How Longleaf Distilling Co. is Building Community in Macon

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In n April 2026, Macon, Georgia’s Longleaf Distilling Co. celebrated its third anniversary—yet the craft distillery projects far more experience. The double gold medals earned by its Southland Navy Strength Gin and Alba Thistle Liqueur at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in its first year suggest more time under the belt. An emphasis on classic cocktails in its tasting room pours a “been-there” patina into every sip. And Longleaf isn’t merely in Macon; it feels of Macon, which makes sense when you learn its creation is rooted in cofounders David Thompson and Will Robinson’s dedication to enhancing their community.

Robinson and Thompson Longleaf Distilling

It all began on a trip to Detroit. While in Motor City, Thompson learned from the owner of a distillery he visited there that once a city had a few brewpubs, a logical next step was a local distillery. Longleaf sprouted from that conversation. Thompson owns a construction business and was already an investor in one of Macon’s brewpubs. “I felt Macon was ready for a distillery,” he says. As the idea germinated, he shared it with Robinson, who owns an interior design firm with his wife and had worked with Thompson before. “It sounded like a great thing for Macon,” Robinson says, “and that’s at our core—we both love the city and wanted to add something exciting.”

The duo possessed the expertise to design the distilling space, but making the spirits meant Robinson needed to add new skills to his already lengthy resume. After graduating college with a degree in history and archeology, doing IT sales, and owning an interior design firm, he was ready to dig into distilling. He spent a week at Kentucky’s Moonshine University and shadowed another distiller at a small Georgia distillery. He then consumed all the DIY distillery education he could find, reading books and posts in online forums. “I joke that the best things that my liberal arts education gave me were the abilities to read with comprehension and to think scientifically,” he says.

Today, Longleaf’s vodka tops its best-seller list thanks to a smooth mouthfeel courtesy of Robinson’s proprietary mash blend. No Longleaf bottle contains a drop of artificial flavor or color. Its award-winning Alba (combining blessed thistle, ginger, citrus peels, cumin, and other natural ingredients) gets its fetching violet hue from handpicked butterfly pea flowers. To make its High Tea Vodka, Robinson steeps high-proof vodka with a blend of black tea and other botanicals. “It’s like how you’d make a cup of tea at home,” he says.

Robinson’s passion for purity in both ingredients and process flows from his love of history. “I distill and produce products essentially the way they did centuries ago,” he says. The inspiration for Alba came from an old, obscure Italian distilling book, and it’s finished in pinot noir barrels, following yesteryear’s methods. History guided the making of Longleaf’s Heirloom American Whiskey, too. “Distilling was once a farm craft, so I wondered what Georgia whiskey tasted like 200 years ago and tried to re-create that,” Robinson says. The blend of corn and rye whiskeys finished in Maderia casks (“That would have been the best barrel a Georgia farmer could get his hands on back then,” Robinson says) was a “best in class” finalist for blended American whiskey at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

This interest in the past also informs the classic drinks on offer in Longleaf’s tasting room, like one of Robinson’s personal favorites, the Bless Up, a riff on the Aviation, which marries Longleaf’s Southland gin, Alba liqueur, and lemon juice.

Despite accolades poised to push Longleaf skyward, Thompson and Robinson aren’t looking to become a mega distillery with bottles in every liquor store. “I want to own our own backyard right now,” Robinson says.

And yet, growth is part of the plan; Longleaf is helping replenish Georgia’s disappearing longleaf pine population. “We already had our name,” Robinson says, “so when we learned of an effort to rebuild our longleaf pine ecosystems, we joined it.” For every Longleaf bottle sold, the distillery commits to planting a pine. Last year, in coordination with the nonprofit Longleaf Alliance, the distillery planted 85,000 longleaf seedlings on a 150-acre sustainable teaching forest managed by Mercer University. “We’re really proud of that,” Thompson says.

Watching Macon residents and visitors enjoy each other and Longleaf spirits provides satisfaction, too. “It’s incredibly heartwarming to walk in and see people connecting over cocktails in our tasting room,” Thompson says. Robinson agrees. “It’s cool to play that role in the community we love.”