Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, BSB Media will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All content is curated by editors of BSB Media..

BSB Media Favorites
Gullah Spirituals – by Eric Sean Crawford (Paperback)
Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island
Gullah Spirit: The Art of Jonathan Green
Drew Rose Designs Ceramic Woven Trim Planter
Set of 4 Woven Striped Placemats – Frontgate
Woven Bamboo Placemats, Set of 4 By Anthropologie in Blue Size SET OF 4
Arthur Court Designs Sea Horse Twisted Seagrass Placemats – set of 4
35″” x 35″” Juneteenth by Synthia Saint James Canvas Art Print – Masterpiece Art Gallery
Yaheetech Set of 2 Weave Arm Chair Mid-Century Metal Dining Chair Y-Shaped Backrest Hemp Seat, Black
Handmade Gullah Sweetgrass Drink Coasters . Traditional Hand Crafted Folk Art . Natural Woven Home Decor . Made in the USA
Sweetgrass Kite Earring
Quilted Patchwork Cotton Throw Blanket – Indigo Blue Shibori Dye Indian Decorative Super Soft & Warm Blanket for Sofa and Couch 50 x 60 Inches
Woven Wicker Rattan Wall Decor, Round Seagrass Boho Kitchen Decor, Minimalist Rattan Chargers & Placemats for Dining Table & Wall Art, Rattan Wall Decorative Basket
Mud Pie Rattan Serving Utensils
ColorBird Stripe Tassel Tablecloth Cotton Linen Dust-Proof Table Cover for Kitchen Dinning Tabletop Decoration (Rectangle/Oblong, 55 x 120Inch, Blue)
carol&frank Josie Indigo Pillow
Finnhomy Sideboard Buffet Cabinet, Kitchen Storage Cabinet with Rattan Decorated Doors
Kouboo 1110141 Manhattan 2-Tier Console, Natural Rattan End Table, Brown
‘Inspirations’ Sheer Scarf by Jonathan Green
Lowcountry Rice Culture Note Cards
‘Inspirations’ Note Cards by Jonathan Green
‘Southern Imagery’ Notecards by Jonathan Green
Willow Row Multi Colored Ceramic Coastal Decorative Jar – Set of 2
Stratton Home Reddish Brown Tulum Woven Lantern Stand
Safavieh Noely Coastal Writing Desk
Lenox Watercolor Horizons Microwave Safe Blue 12-Pc. Dinnerware Set, Service for 4, Created for Macy’s
Estaugh Ikat Black/Gray Indoor / Outdoor Area Rug Union Rustic Rug Size: Rectangle 8′ x 11′
Set of 4 Natalya Ikat Stripe Placemats Gray – Ballard Designs
Suzanne Kasler Greek Key Sham – Ballard Designs
Doric Upholstered Wingback Arm Chair Red Barrel Studio Body Fabric: Skylar Antique Blue
Goddesses by Synthia SAINT JAMES Canvas Wall Art 3 Piece
Whitewash Wood Draped Bead 4 Light Chandelier by World Market
MASTER PIECE LESSONS GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
GULLAH CUISINE: BY LAND AND BY SEA
GULLAH HOME COOKING THE DAUFUSKIE WAY: SMOKIN’ JOE BUTTER BEANS, OL’ ‘FUSKIE FRIED CRAB RICE, STICKY-BUSH BLACKBERRY DUMPLING, AND OTHER SEA ISLAND FAVORITES (PAPERBACK)
MAMA DOONK’S GULLAH RECIPES (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH IMAGES: THE ART OF JONATHAN GREEN
GROWING UP GULLAH IN THE LOWCOUNTRY (PAPERBACK)
GULLAH GEECHEE HERITAGE IN THE GOLDEN ISLES (PAPERBACK)
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE GEORGIA LOWCOUNTRY: THE ATLANTIC WORLD AND THE GULLAH GEECHEE (RACE IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD, 1700–1900 SER.)
MASTER PIECE JOOK JOINT GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35
G IS FOR GULLAH
BLACK BORDER : GULLAH STORIES OF THE CAROLINA COAST
GULLAH NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (HARDCOVER)
MY KIND OF NET ART PRINT BY GULLAH LIVING SERIES BY SAMANTHA CLAAR – X-LARGE
35″ X 35″ GULLAH GEECHEE CONJURE WOMAN BY SYNTHIA SAINT JAMES CANVAS ART PRINT – MASTERPIECE ART GALLERY
RING SHOUT GULLAH ISLANDS – UNFRAMED PRINT ON CANVAS WORLD MENAGERIE
TALKING TO THE DEAD : RELIGION, MUSIC, AND LIVED MEMORY AMONG GULLAH/GEECHEE WOMEN
GULLAH CULTURE IN AMERICA (PAPERBACK)
MASTER PIECE GATHERING GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 30X40
GULLAH DAYS: HILTON HEAD ISLANDERS BEFORE THE BRIDGE 1861-1956
THE JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE: MAKING GULLAH: A HISTORY OF SAPELO ISLANDERS, RACE, AND THE AMERICAN IMAGINATION (PAPERBACK)
MASTER PIECE CHASING SENSE GULLAH ISLANDS WALL ART, 35X35

Delta Dirt Distillery: The Only Black-Owned Farm to Bottle Spirits Company 

Delta Dirt Distillery: The Only Black-Owned Farm to Bottle Spirits Company 

Delta Dirt Distillery: The Only Black-owned Farm to Bottle Spirits Company 

Delta Dirt Distillery’s tagline reads, “Raising spirits in the Delta,” which can mean anything from elevating morale and changing hearts to what Donna and Harvey Williams are doing as the owners of the nation’s only African American-owned farm distillery. They are continuing a work begun by ancestors who used business savvy and agricultural acumen to take care of their families and develop their community. 

The original plan was to create “a destination place for” Helena-West Helena. In less than a year, that’s a goal achieved for the Williamses, who grew up in nearby Lee County. People from near and far have traveled to see and experience the couple’s distillery and tasting room located in Old Helena, a historic district in downtown Helena. 

Advertisement

What exactly are they tasting? A family-owned recipe for 86-proof sweet potato vodka. The number 86 is significant to them. It is the year the couple graduated from high school as well as the number of acres of land purchased by Harvey’s grandfather. The sweet potatoes grow on that land, and come directly from a family-owned farm in Phillips County, Arkansas, and then taken to their distillery some 30 miles away, where on the weekends their tasting room guests can receive a sip-and-see tour of the facility. 

Donna Williams (center), son Thomas (left) and husband Harvey (right)

Tasting room customers can look through the window directly into the distillery.

Advertisement

In 2017, Harvey returned to the Arkansas Delta, which is part of the Mississippi Delta region. It’s a place historian Willard B. Gatewood, Jr. called “The Deepest of the Deep South.” It is a region just as well-known for its crops (cotton, soybeans and rice) as it is known for the blues. He simply wanted to return home, and Donna would join him there full-time in 2020. The name Delta Dirt Distillery pays homage to the wealth of the soil.

And family history. 

Harvey’s great-grandfather share-cropped the land that grows the sweet potatoes for the vodka. His grandfather bought 86 acres of that land in a risky, epic way. He used money he made as a moonshiner along with savings to outwit the landowner, who wasn’t expecting him to have the money. Until his recent passing, Harvey’s father worked the farm, and now he and his brothers run it and the distillery is a customer. 

Donna and Harvey’s two adult sons have relocated to Helena-West Helena to assist in the operation of Delta Dirt Distillery. One son is the master distiller while the other son assists in the day-to-day business operations of the facility. The couple’s daughter is in the U.S. Navy and joins her family as often as possible. 

By April 1, the distillery’s first anniversary, the Williamses hope to add a 92-proof gin to their spirits catalog. Donna says, “The gin will be blended by us but bottled at another facility.” 

Next month, they will also be working towards aging their bourbon whiskey recipe. 

Until then, their Sweet Blend Vodka is increasing its stockists. It is now available in Costco, Little Rock and at any number of vendors in the state of Arkansas. (The distillery is not allowed to ship out-of-state to consumers.) 

As a part of their goal to raise the spirit in the Delta, the Williamses have committed one percent of their profits to community initiatives and they use Delta vendors to supply things such as the appetizers and food sometimes served in the tasting room. In the past, they sourced food from Dee’s BBQ & Catfish and the legendary Jones Bar-B-Que Diner

But if you’re in for a road trip, then stop by Delta Dirt Distillery’s tasting room at 430 Cherry Street. You can have a craft Sweet Blend cocktail as well as meet some of the many people who stop by to sip-and-see. It’s open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 4 PM – 8 PM. 

If it just so happens that you will be attending the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival in Greenville MS, then you have an open invitation to visit the Williamses and Delta Dirt. As you drive you’re liable to look up and see one of their billboards. When asked how she felt after seeing one for the first time, Donna says, “I wonder what people are going to take from that?”

We think they’ll take away something special. 

Follow Delta Dirt Distillery on Facebook (@deltadirtstillery ) and Instagram (@deltadirtdistillery) to keep up with their news and events.    [Photos used with permission from Delta Dirt Distillery.] 

Advertisement

Robin Caldwell

Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and academic researcher focusing on Black history, heritage and culture. Public historian primarily in Black American historical foodways: antebellum and regional.

More Posts

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebook

37

Comments

comments

Advertisement
Follow:
Robin Caldwell

Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and academic researcher focusing on Black history, heritage and culture. Public historian primarily in Black American historical foodways: antebellum and regional.

Find me on: Twitter/X | Instagram | Facebook

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Shares