Sometimes it’s nice to sip a cocktail in a place that’s just a bit different. Answering that call is the Old Town Distillery Dispensary in Bluffton. Named for a state-operated liquor store that opened in 1893, the Old Town Dispensary is a popular local tavern steeped in history.
Nearly every square inch of the tavern has a history. The walls are from a former Estill train station, replicas of a model 1863 .50-caliber flintlock rifle and an 1850 U.S. Army black-powder pistol. Even the bathroom doors have a story to tell – they’re from the Ogeechee Railroad train station in Georgia.
On another wall is a reproduction of a drawing of General Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in their last meeting before Jackson’s death. In fact,
J.J. Carson, who built and lived in the house on Calhoun Street that is the Carson Cottage’s namesake and now houses the Cottage restaurant, picked up the wounded Jackson, put him in his gurney and took him to the medical station.
Sounds like a nice little trip for the history buff in your life. The tavern has 1,004 heated square feet, seats 46 and serves Caribbean-inspired food, beer, wine and liquor. Hours are 11 a.m. -11 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 11 a.m. to Midnight, Friday and Saturday. 15 Captains Cove Road, Bluffton. 843.837.1893.
