Donut Distillery – Nashville, TN
East Nashville takes donuts unreasonably seriously. Half a mile from the croissant-layer perfectionists at Five Daughters Bakery, a converted filling station on Gallatin Avenue houses Donut Distillery, which asked a different question entirely: what if the donut shop were also a bar? We visited both in one afternoon, strictly for journalism.
Donuts With a Liquor License
The headline act is the whiskey glaze, made with real Tennessee whiskey, and the building says so on a sign: Home of the Whiskey Glazed Donut. From there the menu goes full bar program: donut shots, beer and mimosa flights with donut pairings, spiked shakes, and a donut milkshake that blends two donuts into ice cream and then puts a third on top like a trophy. The weekly special even comes with an official shot pairing, handwritten on the counter sign.
The Twelve Signatures
The core lineup is twelve signature minis, and there’s a labeled sample platter on the counter so you can size up the field before committing: Whiskey Glaze, Sweet Swine, Death by Chocolate, S’mores, Boston Cream, Dreamcicle, Strawberry Lemonade, the Homer, and friends. The minis are made to order, so they hand you the box warm.
What We Got
A dozen, mixed: whiskey glaze, Sweet Swine (maple glaze under a gravel lot of bacon), the week’s Hot Jam That’s Good (powdered sugar, raspberry jelly), Strawberry Lemonade, and a few cream-filled numbers. The whiskey glaze earns the sign out front, and the warm box did not survive the parking lot. We accept full responsibility.
Inside it’s all teal, purple, and a neon sign on a giant sprinkle wall, engineered for the photo you’re already planning. Make it a two-stop East Nashville donut crawl with Five Daughters up the street, and argue about which one won on the drive out. We’re still arguing.
