meet our chaos harnessing Team
What happens when you bring together three friends and seasoned Engineers, with a love for artisanal spirits? They find a way to create it themselves.
When you hear our Partners, Lisa Messenger, Todd Harbin and T.C. Beinke, are Engineers, you might ask yourself why they decided to create a distillery in historic downtown Greenville, SC.
Well, it all started with a shared love of high-quality artisanal liquors and a desire to unleash their creative problem-solving skills. What better way to bring those two together than to build a distillery where they could craft unique spirits by hand?
With our own proprietary distillation process designed by Todd, our Chief Distillation Engineer, the team focused on small-batch and additive-free artisan rums, agave spirits and creams. Together, they have built an experience that blends a warm, relaxed environment with tasting tours and delicious custom cocktails.
Come inside, grab a cocktail and say hello. We can’t wait to meet you.
Todd Harbin
Todd Harbin, as a managing partner and Chief Distillation Engineer, was the driving factor behind the creation of New South Spirits.
His love for craft spirits and his 25+ years in Engineering truly merged to create a taste profile of liquors that are unique, full- bodied, and truly enjoyable to the palate. Todd has spent most of his career in product testing, development, and design engineering for the automotive industry. He was one of the owners of Millennium Precision a Metrology and Product Testing Laboratory that was sold in 2017. After the sale of Millennium, he got into craft spirits and the idea for New South Spirits was born.
Todd oversees all controls engineering for stills and bottling operations, as well as recipe development and product creation. By blending his passion for engineering with his creative thinking process, Todd brings order to the chaos.
Lisa Messenger
Lisa Messenger, a managing partner with a background in engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), was also one of the founding partners of Millennium Precision. She has a background in Engineering and Business and will oversee business operations for New South including accounting, sales, and merchandising.
Throughout her career, Lisa has focused on product testing, metrology, and sales. She has played a pivotal role in establishing product testing labs in both the USA and Mexico. Lisa’s business acumen helps navigate the turbulence of daily business operations.
T.C. Beinke
T.C. Beinke, a managing partner and NC State alumni, has spent his time since graduation in product testing, engineering and sales. T.C. also has experience in the restaurant and service industry and has been instrumental in setting up the bar operation for New South.
T.C. is responsible for front-end operations, cocktail creation, events, and marketing. His service industry skills bring peace to the maelstrom of meeting customers’ needs and expectations.