Bring the entire family for a night of sparring and demonstrations by the Warriors of Ash

WNC’s very own historical European martial arts school.

Enjoy cold beverages for all ages from the Oak & Grist bar while cheering on your favorite warriors as they engage in combat using a variety of historical weapons and techniques.

Free to attend and fun for the whole family. Bring a picnic and hangout for the evening.

Learn more about the WoA and find out how you can become a member

Bring your paints and easels and join the Asheville Plein Air group for an afternoon of outdoor summer painting.

The distillery offers a wide range of subjects from industrial architecture, to fruit & herb garden, to mountain views for your painting pleasure. And as a bonus, cold craft beverages including cocktails, house made sodas, beer, and wine. Bring a picnic and make an evening of it.

All experience levels welcome.

To learn more about the Asheville Plein Air group check out their website

Free Cocktail Sampling and Mixology Lesson

Join us for Summer Sips in the garden*. A short afternoon event celebrating the tastes of summer. For July we will be sampling some drinks from our new summer menu featuring fresh local fruits, veggies, and herbs.

Swing Swing - A pepper infused genever sour with pineapple, lime, and orange cinnamon simple. A fresh and bright Appalachian take on a summer beachy cocktail.

Strawberry Fields 4 Now - Local strawberry oleo paired with our Descendent Single Malt whiskey brings a summer twist to a Manhattan style drink.

This free monthly event will feature a sampling of 2 fabulous cocktails, a lesson by our lead bartender Arah on how to prepare each one at home, and access to the recipes.

Bring some snacks or a picnic for a full afternoon of drinks and community.

Summer Sips makes a great follow up to our Distillery Tour where you will learn what makes our grain to glass spirits so uniquely special to Western North Carolina. The tour is from 1-2pm and includes a flight of all the spirits we have in bottle.

*In the event of inclement weather limited indoor seating will be available.

Sign-ups to share will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the event and fill up fast. We look forward to seeing you there!

Live Music

In partnership with Leaf Global Arts an afternoon of outdoor music, craft cocktails, beer, wine, and mocktails under the shade of our covered patio.

Artist: Trilby & Derian Blane

Derian: Derian Blane is a local non-binary singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist who brings a creative, encouraging, and community-centered approach to music education.

Trilby: Trilby is an alternative rock artist currently based in Asheville, North Carolina. Trilby has been writing originals since she was fourteen. She just released her new single, “Cities,” and she has recorded her debut album set to rollout this year. To stay updated, you can follow her handle, @trilbyyy, on all social media platforms!

Bring a picnic and make a day of it.

Summer Camp was fun as a kid, but summer camp as an adult is even better! 

Welcome to Day Camp at Oak & Grist! 

We're turning the distillery into an adult summer camp complete with free food, camp games, creative activities, campfire snacks, summer cocktails, and plenty of opportunities to earn bragging rights.

Gather your team, embrace your competitive side, and prepare for a day of nostalgia, sunshine, and questionable athletic decisions.

Camp begins July 18th at 3 pm! You won’t want to miss this! 🏕️🍹

Camp Activities & Cookout will take place from 3-7 pm. Then from 7-9, you can kick back by the campfires to enjoy s’mores and cocktails.

🏕️ Water Balloon Toss

🏕️ Tug of War

🏕️ Three-Legged Race

🏕️ Malt Sack Races

🏕️ Beer Pong Tournament

🏕️ Bocce Ball + Cornhole

Grab a drink and join Jason as he discusses a topic on most WNC residents minds:

Sustainable Outdoor Recreation & Economic Development for Rural Communities

One challenge rural communities (and I would include all of WNC in that rural definition) have with the tourism economy is gentrification. This presentation will address nonprofits' role in economic development as it relates to workforce development, affordable housing, quality of life, etc.

Essentially how do we create communities and an economy where the essential workers (teachers, government employees, small business owners, service workers, etc) can live where they work. I'll be talking about how three nonprofits in Old Fort are working to answer some of those questions by discussing how we've catalyzed our economy while at the same time investing in projects that support workforce development, housing, and small businesses development

Jason has been involved in the outdoor industry professionally for almost 40 years and recreationally his entire life. In 1987. Jason has a Master’s degree in education and has been a fourth grade teacher, climbing guide, wilderness instructor, and camp director.

Since joining Camp Grier in 2013 he has helped lead the organization into an era of expansion and growth by partnering with the USFS and other community based organizations to grow the outdoor economy in Old Fort.

These efforts have led to $8M invested in public outdoor recreation infrastructure in Old Fort which is catalyzing more than $75M of nonprofit and impact investments in tourism, workforce development, commercial retail, and workforce housing projects.

Join us Sunday, June 28th at 3pm for Bitters Lab to understand more about this crucial cocktail ingredient. After a bit of knowledge, we will let you loose on our botanical library so you can craft your very own bottle to take home. We’ll see ya in the lab!

Our online ticketing service charges a processing fee. If you would like to avoid that fee please call us at 828-357-5750 between 1-8pm to purchase tickets over the phone.

Try something different this Fathers Day

Whether out with the whole family or enjoying a day on your own come by the distillery and check out our fathers day specials:

• 1pm production tour and learn all about how we make our grain to glass spirits Followed by a flight of our entire spirit selection.

• $11 Old Fashioned & Gin and Tonic all day.

• Beer, wine, & NA options also available.

• Bring your favorite meal and make an afternoon of it.

Looking for a last minute gift? Check out our retail selection of spirits, mixers, and to go beer and wine. We have full sales even on Sunday.

We are excited to have our friend Marley Carroll at the distillery for our first ever distillery dance party. As we've gotten older staying out late to get our groove on is harder than it used to be so we wanted to throw a party that had you home around 10pm. So come dance the early night away with us and catch our stellar sunset view at the same time.

Saturday June 20th

7:30pm - 10:00pm

$19.26 (Ticket - $18, Sales Tax - $1.26)

All proceeds from ticket sales for this event go directly to the artist Marley Carroll.

ABOUT MARLEY

As a DJ, Marley guides audiences through expertly-mixed marathon sets that combine impeccable music curation with superb turntable skills. From classic hip-hop and R&B, to soulful house, Afrobeat and disco, to hidden gems of current pop, no era or genre is out-of-bounds. Guided by well-honed musical instincts and a deep love for craft, Marley creates dance music experiences that are deeply engaging and frequently surprising.

Asheville-based DJ, producer and turntablist Marley Carroll’s exquisitely-detailed atmospheric dance music is adored by fans for its powerful emotional resonance and rated by peers who cite him as an abiding influence, evoking comparisons to genre luminaries like Four Tet and Caribou. As a producer, he has shared stages with artists like Floating Points, Bonobo and DJ Shadow, notched acclaimed appearances at iconic music festivals like Coachella and LiB, and garnered spins and support from outlets like NPR, BBC Radio 1, KCRW and KEXP.

Sign-ups to share will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the event and fill up fast. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join us on 6/14 for a free distillery tour and tasting!

This summer we have all sorts of exciting things in the works.

To kick it off we wanted to invite all our friends to a complimentary production tour and spirit tasting.

Join us at 1pm (get here early if you would like a little something from the bar) and learn all you ever wanted to know about grain to glass spirit distillation.

What does a coffee shop have to do with loneliness?

Probably more than you’d expect.

In an age when loneliness is quietly winning, this talk is about how simple things—making something with care, showing outrageous hospitality, and creating intentional spaces full of surprise and delight—can actually bring people back together. Drawing from building a small coffee shop, Daniel shares ideas and stories about how we can create places, whether in business or at home, where people feel seen, cared for, and a little less alone.

Bio: Daniel Lancaster runs Short Sleeves Coffee, a coffee shop and roastery in Swannanoa, NC. He’s worked in coffee for years as a barista, roaster, and writer, including publishing a book on coffee along the way. Lately, his focus has been the merging of coffee itself and what coffee can create—spaces where people feel a little more connected

Free Cocktail Sampling and Mixology Lesson

Join us for Summer Sips in the garden*. The first of a series celebrating the tastes of summer.

This free monthly event will feature a sampling of 3 fabulous cocktails, a lesson by our lead bartender Arah on how to prepare each one at home, and access to the recipes.

Charley King’s Jamaican Jerk Food Truck will be on site for a full summer picnic experience.

Summer Sips makes a great follow up to our Distillery Tour where you will learn what makes our grain to glass spirits so uniquely special to Western North Carolina. The tour is from 1-2pm and includes a flight of all the spirits we have in bottle.

*In the event of inclement weather limited indoor seating will be available.

Following such a great showing of community with our previous Wool for Warmth events we wanted to continue our partnership with Black Mountain Yarn Shop and provide an open and welcoming environment for folks to sit, knit, socialize, eat, & drink.

All skill levels all projects welcome.

This will be an ongoing open knit night on the second Thursday of each month.

Rachael Hoch is a North Carolina native and nature enthusiast, currently spending time between Swannanoa and Raleigh, NC. She spent her early life outside of Raleigh sloshing through creeks, wading in ponds, catching crayfish, fish, and amphibians.

She received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Biology from Appalachian State University. During her time at App State, she worked on renewable energy projects and biofuels. Between degrees, she worked as a research assistant conducting surveys for freshwater mussels, crayfishes, and fishes throughout the southeastern US. During graduate school, she studied the effects of beaver and manmade dams on freshwater mussels.

She joined the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) in 2012 as a conservation technician conducting surveys for mussels, crayfish, and fish in NC. Since then, she has continued to work with the NCWRC, serving as a Conservation Aquaculture Biologist and Coordinator rearing rare aquatic species in Marion, NC and conducting conservation work on imperiled species statewide. Currently, she is the Assistant Chief of Inland Fisheries and program manager of the Aquatic Wildlife Diversity Program overseeing the state’s conservation work on aquatic species of greatest conservation need. When not working, Rachael enjoys spending time outdoors, gardening, camping, fishing, and hiking.

Experience whiskey like we do at our quarterly vertical tasting straight from the barrel warehouse.

At BARREL PROOF Vol. 04 you will get a chance to explore the impact that climate has on our whiskey. The temperate rainforest of western North Carolina exposes our whiskey to a globally scarce climate that exists in 1% of the earths surface. This has a unique impact on the whiskey that we make and age here.

As we discuss the impact of climate on maturation, we will explore a couple of our whiskies and a couple of guest whiskies from around the world. You can reserve your spot for this educational (and tasty) experience below.

Sign-ups to share will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the event and fill up fast. We look forward to seeing you there!

A Dungeons & Dragons 1-shot session run by a professional GM right next to our beautiful copper stills. A truly unique gaming experience.

Dungeons and Drafts is a company that runs games in breweries, distilleries, and other fine establishments and has been rolling dice in the Asheville area for over a year. They supply the GM, the dice, the characters, and everything else needed to play. All experience levels welcome

Join our head bartender Arah as she takes you on a journey around the globe to see how the G&T is presented in different cultures.

I'm sure everyone is aware that April 9th is National Gin & Tonic Day in the U.S. To help you celebrate the biggest holiday of the year we wanted to deep dive into one of the most classic drinks of all time.

We will explore the Gin (or Genever in our case) and Tonic as presented by the British, the Spanish, and a modern twists as well.

A ticket gets admission to the class and generous samples of all the drinks covered in class. Students also get 20% off our selection of vermouths, bitters, mixers, and barware to help enhance your home bar (spirits excluded by NC State law). Plus recipe cards detailing the drinks, syrups, infusions, and methods covered in class.

Following such a great showing of community with our previous Wool for Warmth events we wanted to continue our partnership with Black Mountain Yarn Shop and provide an open and welcoming environment for folks to sit, knit, socialize, eat, & drink.

All skill levels all projects welcome.

This will be an ongoing open knit night on the second Thursday of each month.

Election 2026: In this discussion, Chris Cooper will discuss the who, what, when, where, how and even a little bit of the why of the 2026 election. While we'll discuss U.S. elections in general, the focus will be on what to know as it pertains to North Carolina.

Bio: Chris Cooper is Madison Distinguished professor of political Science and public Affairs and Director of the Haire Institute for Public Policy at Western Carolina University. His research and writing has appeared in dozens of academic journal articles, as well as articles in Politico Magazine, The Assembly, and the Washington Post. His most recent book is Anatomy of a Purple State: A North Carolina Politics Primer.

Join us as we celebrate the changing of the season

This is an all ages event. Bring your kids, pets, friends and family and enjoy an afternoon of relaxation, yard games, and community.

5 Year Whiskey Release

Be one of the first to taste our newest 5 year bottle release. This release has been aged in an ex-red wine barrel and is a truly unique expression of our whiskey.

New Cocktail Menu

The Bar at Oak & Grist will be open all day serving up some delicious cocktails, mocktails, & sodas from our new spring menu. As always we will have a selection of local craft beer and wines from around the world.

Seed Swap

The Dr. John Wilson Community Garden of Black Mountain will be onsite hosting a seed swap. A great chance to meet other gardeners and exchange seeds to diversify your green space.

Live Music

Teso McDonald on stage bringing their unique sounds to our mountain valley.

Sweet Cub Ice Cream

Grab an ice cream and sit back and enjoy the day.

Charley King’s Jamaican Jerk

Our resident food truck will be on site serving up some fantastic Jamaican fare.

Join us every Friday starting March 13 to experience chef Charley King’s take on a classic

The Friday Fish Fry 5-9pm

He’ll be here cooking up some seriously tasty fish n chips along with his full menu of Jamaican classics from noon-9pm. And we will be in the bar ready to serve craft cocktails, local beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Join us every Friday starting March 13 to experience chef Charley King’s take on a classic

The Friday Fish Fry 5-9pm

He’ll be here cooking up some seriously tasty fish n chips along with his full menu of Jamaican classics from noon-9pm. And we will be in the bar ready to serve craft cocktails, local beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Join us every Friday starting March 13 to experience chef Charley King’s take on a classic

The Friday Fish Fry 5-9pm

He’ll be here cooking up some seriously tasty fish n chips along with his full menu of Jamaican classics from noon-9pm. And we will be in the bar ready to serve craft cocktails, local beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.