Moonshine Still a Big Part of TN Culture

Moonshine Still a Big Part of TN Culture

The city’s first jar of legal moonshine was sold July 3, 2010.

Some saw the moment as a salute to independence, a shedding of antiquated laws that kept the region from telling an important part of its history.

For others, that first sale marked a potential shadow that could hang over the image of the tourism-dependent city.

In the five years since Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery opened in downtown Gatlinburg, three more companies have jumped onto the liquor wagon: Davy Crockett’s Tennessee Whiskey (owned by Gatlinburg Barrelhouse) in 2011 and Sugarlands Distillery and Doc Collier Moonshine in 2014.

Moonshine has long been a part of the Appalachian culture and continues to play a role that appears to be growing.

Gatlinburg’s city manager recalls how in early 2010 the city was approached by the founders of Ole Smoky Moonshine about applying to open a distillery. Soon she would have talks with the city attorney to fully understand the new state law that eased restrictions on distilleries.

In February 2013, Gatlinburg’s city commission passed ordinances in an attempt to regulate the distilleries. Soon after they were nullified.

Now one restaurant in Gatlinburg has even created a menu featuring moonshine in foods and beverages.

The General Assembly passed legislation in 2009 that made distilleries legal in 41 Tennessee counties, including Sevier. Whiskey production previously had been restricted to Moore, Coffee and Lincoln counties in Southeast Tennessee, home to the Jack Daniel’s, George Dickel and Prichard’s distilleries.

The result has been (continue reading)

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