The Botanical Series: A Special Collaboration between Chemist Spirits and The North Carolina Arboretum
You Are Invited!
 As dedicated members, supporters, and guests of The North Carolina Arboretum, you are invited to join us for the first taste of a new botanical spirit crafted in collaboration with Chemist Spirits!
Reserve your spot below at one of three special events that make up The Botanical Series!
The Botanical Series: First Pour
Wednesday, September 30, 2026Â from 6 to 9 p.m.
Antidote at Chemist Spirits –Â 151 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC 28801
Join us for the first taste of a collaboration rooted in Western North Carolina.
The North Carolina Arboretum and Chemist Spirits have come together to create a one-of-a-kind botanical vodka featuring botanicals harvested from the Arboretum and transformed by Chemist Spirits. Your ticket includes one specialty cocktail featuring the new botanical vodka, along with light bites. Additional beverages will be available for purchase.
Want a peek behind the scenes? A limited number of guests may add on a 5:00 p.m. tour of Chemist Spirits’ distillery before First Pour. A First Pour event ticket is required to participate in the tour.
Please note: This event is for guests ages 21 and older. A valid photo ID will be required for age verification upon arrival.
The Botanical Series: Roots and Spirits
Saturday, October 3, 2026 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Heritage Garden at The North Carolina Arboretum
Come wander, sip and celebrate the connection between plants, craft and place!
As part of Carolina Craft Day, raise a glass where the story began.
Join us in the Heritage Garden at The North Carolina Arboretum for Roots & Spirits, a relaxed evening celebrating our new botanical vodka collaboration with Chemist Spirits—and the plants, people and craftsmanship that inspired it.
Enjoy a specialty cocktail featuring the new botanical vodka while exploring the Heritage Garden and discovering more about this uniquely Western North Carolina collaboration. Along the way, meet artists from Echoes of the Forest and watch traditional and contemporary woodworking demonstrations, including spoon carving and laser wood engraving.
Your ticket includes one specialty cocktail featuring the botanical vodka, light bites and parking. Additional beverages will be available for purchase.
Please note: This event is for guests ages 21 and older. A valid photo ID will be required for age verification upon arrival.
The Botanical Series: The Reserve
Thursday, October 8, 2026 from 6Â to 8Â p.m.
Blue Ridge Court at The North Carolina Arboretum
An elevated evening. A distinct Arboretum experience.
The North Carolina Arboretum and Chemist Spirits have come together to create a one-of-a-kind botanical vodka inspired by the plants and landscapes of Western North Carolina. Developed through months of collaboration, the spirit features botanicals thoughtfully harvested from the Arboretum and transformed by Chemist Spirits into a distinctive expression of place.
The Reserve offers an intimate opportunity to experience that collaboration at its most refined. Set against the mountain backdrop of Blue Ridge Court, this limited-capacity evening pairs botanical spirits, food and live music with a curated tasting experience led by Chemist Spirits.
Explore the flavors and botanicals behind the spirit before creating your own botanical-infused cocktail, guided by the experts who developed it. Then settle in and enjoy the evening with live music and heavy hors d’oeuvres in one of the Arboretum’s most beautiful settings.
Each guest will also receive a commemorative 40th Anniversary Arboretum tasting glass to take home. Parking is included.
Please note: This event is for guests ages 21 and older. A valid photo ID will be required for age verification upon arrival.
Everywhere we look, botanicals link modern human life to nature, and spirits have played an important role in bringing people together, for millennia.
In collaboration with local distillery, Chemist Spirits, The North Carolina Arboretum introduces a special edition Botanical Vodka that combines both of these concepts into one bottle. A deeply rooted spirit with botanicals native to North Carolina—spicebush, longleaf pine, hawthorn, and mountain mint—harvested from the grounds and gardens of the state’s Arboretum, this new spirit is the Old North State in a glass.
Proceeds from this collaboration—including bottle purchases, special events, and other experiences featuring the botanical vodka—support The North Carolina Arboretum Society’s ONE FUND, which promotes conservation and education.Â
Members can receive $5 off each ticket purchased – contact membership@ncarboretum.org for assistance.Â
We look forward to celebrating this special collaboration and deepening the connection to the natural world with you.
All of these events are for guests ages 21 and over. A valid photo ID will be required for age verification upon arrival.
For questions about tickets please contact guestserviceslead@ncarboretum.org.
For questions about the collaboration please contact development@ncarboretum.org.Â