For hundreds of years Tennessee mountain dwellers hid their moonshine, now they are loud and proud. Have you ever tried moonshine? I did for the first time a few years ago and I swear some hairs sprouted of my chest!
Well Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine has convinced me that all moonshine doesn’t taste like lighter fluid. In fact, I’m actually loving the Moonshine Cherries I have been sampling. Ole Smoky is Tennessee’s first legal moonshine distillery (I may need to make a trip to Gatlinburg to take a tour of the distillery) and is now selling 10 flavors of a centuries old East Tennessee family recipe. Apple Pie Moonshine and Moonshine Cherries are two of the more popular flavors, but one of the others may strike your fancy. How about White Lightnin’, Charred, Peach Moonshine, Blackberry Moonshine or Lemon Drop?
True to its roots, each Ole Smoky Moonshine flavor is born from the hand-crafted recipes of the Tennessee families who have been filling moonshine jars and jugs in the Smoky Mountains for more than a century.I even made up a recipe incorporating Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries into my beloved Bourbon Manhattan. See below.
The Metaphorical Moonshine Manhattan
2 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1 oz Italian Sweet Vermouth
2 Moonshine Cherries with a dash of the juice
I prefer it served over ice in a rock glass. If you like bitters you can add a dash, I don’t.
One will do ya! Shine on…
For more information and where to find Ole Smoky visit olesmokymoonshine.com.
– Lauren Dimet Waters
Sample provided for review, but opinions are my own.
