If you've searched "Doug Mulford distiller," you've probably found the press: the Charleston canned-cocktail founder, the podcast interview about his distillery, maybe the new Georgia venture. This page connects that public career to one thing the press coverage doesn't mention: Doug Mulford defaulted on a six-figure business loan, repeatedly broke his promises to repay it, and a court judgement has been entered against him. The firsthand account is documented on this site.

The public trail

The distiller the press wrote about

Doug Mulford's public story is genuinely compelling, and the trade press told it well: a beer brewer turned liquor distiller who founded Drift Cocktails in Charleston, South Carolina in 2020 — a health-conscious, 85-calorie canned cocktail line that distilled real fruit zest and pulp with its spirits [1][4]. Coverage described the idea taking shape while he hiked the Appalachian Trail [1]. Local Charleston outlets covered the launch [2], and by early 2022 the brand had expanded into Florida [3].

He later appeared on the Gulf Coast Business Advocate podcast in a 48-minute interview about LAB Distillery — the distilling operation connected to the LAB Liquor brand portfolio documented on this site: Longwing Vodka, High Rail Bourbon, Baymarc Rum, Drift Spirit, and more.

The part the press didn't cover

In the middle of that public career sits the reason this website exists. Doug Mulford took a six-figure loan for his Beach Drinks canned cocktail venture — to secure bulk pricing from his co-packer. Repayment never came. What came instead was a months-long sequence of broken promises: wires that were "sent" but never arrived, ACH transfers that were "processing," a bank that supposedly needed to "pull the money back." It ended in court. A judgement has been entered against Doug Mulford. The complete timeline is here.

The new venture: SOTO — Spirit of the Oak Distillery

Doug Mulford's story didn't end with the judgement. A craft spirits brand called SOTO — Spirit of the Oak Distillery (sotospirits.com) presents itself as capturing "the spirit of coastal Georgia" through vodkas, gins, barrel-aged rums, whiskey, and ready-to-drink cocktails, launching through production partnerships in the Golden Isles area of Georgia. The brand's consumer-facing materials don't name its founders — but the public record does: Georgia corporate filings list SOTO DISTILLERY, LLC as an active company, registered April 2026 in the Brunswick / St. Simons area, with Douglas H. Mulford named as both member and registered agent [5]. This page exists so that anyone considering investing in or lending to it can weigh the documented history first. A dedicated page is here: SOTO — Spirit of the Oak Distillery.

If you're being pitched — by SOTO or anything else with Doug Mulford behind it: nothing on this page says a new venture can't succeed. It says the last person who wired Doug Mulford money is still holding a court judgement instead of a repayment. Read the full story, run the diligence checklist, search the court records, and decide with open eyes.

Press sources for the public career

  1. CSP Daily News — "Catch This Drift: RTD Health-Conscious Canned Cocktails"
  2. Holy City Sinner — "Line of Canned Cocktails Created by a Charlestonian Now Available Throughout the State"
  3. The Frugalista Life — "Drift Cocktails officially launches in Florida"
  4. Beverage Industry — "Drift Cocktails"
  5. Bizapedia (Georgia corporate records) — "SOTO Distillery, LLC": Douglas H. Mulford, member and registered agent

The loan default, broken repayment promises, and court judgement are documented firsthand on the main page. SOTO's self-description is taken from its public website (sotospirits.com, unlinked deliberately); the Mulford connection is per Georgia corporate filings [5].