That piece of culture, distilled and packaged in East Tennessee, is reaching well beyond its roots, bringing 25 flavors to all 50 states, and 40 countries. But Ole Smoky stays close to its roots — its moonshine is made from mostly local ingredients using a Baker family recipe thats more than a hundred years old. Leaning hard into this distinctly American mythos of homegrown moonshine in a state already internationally famous for whiskey is a core strategy for selling it to the wider world. But distillers like Ole Smoky are also faced with the question of how to get consumers beyond the consumption of Southern culture as novelty.
“You better be able to move on pretty quickly from just nostalgia and having some sort of corn liquor in a mason jar to have a product people actually want to consume,” Ozgo says, “if [its sold] as a novelty, you buy it and it sits on your shelf and collects dust.”
“It was a product that was being made by people in the community, and they were very proud of it,” he says. “It sure did taste good, but it was fun to be able to share.”
Maggie Kimberl, content editor for American Whiskey Magazine and president of the Bourbon Women Association, says moonshine cant rely too much on folksy nostalgia. “Itll be novel for a little while, but it will peter out eventually,” she says. “I want to encourage people, especially if theyre looking at building a brand, to approach it mindfully. Always have a backup plan or an exit plan, or just be really mindful of what the market will bear.”
More than a decade later, Ole Smoky has two locations in Gatlinburg, another up the road in Pigeon Forge (also home to the Dollywood theme park) and a fourth in Nashville. CEO Robert Hall says Ole Smoky is pulling in 4 million visitors every year (in pre-pandemic times, at least). Thats more than all the distilleries in Scotland, and more than the distilleries on the bourbon trail in Kentucky.
How a Moonshine Still Works
FAQ
Is Moonshining still a thing?
Why is moonshine whiskey illegal?
Why is Ole Smoky moonshine legal?
What is moonshine called now?
Is moonshine a whiskey?
Moonshine made from grain, like corn or rye, is whiskey. However, you can make alcohol from many different ingredients. During Prohibition, profit-hungry moonshiners started using white sugar instead of cornmeal, producing a cheaper product that was technically rum, not whiskey. Some people used fruit instead of grains.
Can a distillery label a spirit’moonshine’?
In fact, there are no federal requirements for labelling a spirit as moonshine. That isn’t to say that any distillery can slap the word ‘moonshine’ on a label and have it be authentic. For most distilleries making moonshine, the craft is deeply rooted in family tradition.
Is moonshine a distilled alcohol?
As we’ve discussed above, moonshine technically is any distilled alcohol, such as brandy, tequila, vodka, but for this recipe, we’re going to make a basic corn whiskey – as was typical for moonshiners in the USA around the prohibition era. Before buying anything, the first thing to do is make sure that you’re authorized to distill alcohol.
What does moonshine taste like?
On the other hand, the hearts are where the magic happens. They contain the alcohol and flavor compounds that give moonshine its unique character and taste. The heads are the first part of the distillate to come off during the distillation process. They are characterized by a strong, pungent smell and a harsh, unpleasant taste.