Distillery 98

Distillery 98 sits on Serenoa Road in Santa Rosa Beach, a few miles inland from the beach traffic that clogs 30A in summer. The founders opened the doors in 2019, and the name nods to U.S. Highway 98, the coastal road that threads together the small towns of the Florida Panhandle. Brothers-in-law Harrison Holditch and David Kapitanoff started the distillery after traveling the country studying spirits production, then decided to build something that reflected, in their own words, the natural landscape they were trying to protect rather than compete with it. The address is 835 Serenoa Rd, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459, and the distillery can be reached at (850) 919-2400.

Holditch runs day-to-day operations, distribution, and retail, and by his own account spends nearly as much time paddleboarding the local waterways as he does behind a desk. Kapitanoff, the head distiller, brings nearly a decade of spirits experience and an engineering background to the stills, and he personally oversees production from raw grain to finished bottle. That hands-on approach shows up in the distillery’s flagship release, Half Shell Vodka, which is filtered through a mix of coconut carbon and oyster shells sourced from Florida’s shellfish industry, an unusual technique the distillery describes as one of only a handful in the country using that particular combination.

The lineup also includes Dune Laker and Martin Migration, both made with water drawn from local aquifers and Florida-grown grain, continuing the same locally sourced approach that defines Half Shell Vodka. Sustainability runs through the whole operation beyond the ingredient list. Distillery 98 packages some releases in recyclable paperboard bottles instead of glass, and the team takes part in coastal cleanups and ocean conservancy work around South Walton. The distillery has picked up recognition to match the effort, including a 2023 Gold Medal from the American Distilling Institute for packaging and a Silver Medal from the same organization for spirit quality, plus Best Distillery honors from Best of Emerald Coast for three years running, 2020 through 2022, and a Gold Medal from MicroLiquor in 2020.

The tasting room itself functions more like a neighborhood gathering spot than a typical distillery counter. Local art celebrating the heritage of Scenic Highway 30A lines the walls, and the calendar regularly includes distillery tours, live music, open-mic nights, football watch parties, and rotating food truck vendors parked just outside. Visitors can walk in for a craft cocktail built around the house spirits, or come specifically for a tour slot to see the small-batch production process up close, from the corn and grain intake through to the finished, double-refined spirit. The tasting room is open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily, which gives travelers plenty of flexibility to fold a stop into an afternoon or evening on the west end of 30A.

The venue’s dual identity as both a working distillery and a casual hangout makes it a solid detour for travelers looking for something other than another beach bar. Whether the draw is the environmental angle, the Half Shell Vodka’s unusual filtration process, or just a live band on a Friday night, Distillery 98 gives visitors a reason to head a few minutes off the main highway and see how a small, family-run operation is putting its own stamp on Panhandle spirits.