Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/39104
DEPARTMENT HEADER law was passed. Joe, along with Tony Breeden and Cory Cottongim, came together to produce their family recipes of Appalachian moonshine and share it on a national scale. Unlike other unaged whiskey on the market, Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine isn’t the unaged version of a bour- bon or aged whiskey; instead, it’s produced specifically to be consumed as a clear spirit. In drinks, moonshine can often stand in for vodka, gin or even aged whiskey. “In the South, our moonshine is often mixed with energy drinks, but we’re getting emails every day with new and interesting uses for our product,” explains Joe Baker. Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine is made mostly from corn, grown locally and milled down the road at a family mill. “We cook within a day of milling, and our milling process is on equipment from the 1800s. It enables us to get a much coarser grind that lets us cook it nice and slow,” describes Baker. The moonshine is made in small batches in a small copper pot still. It’s then proofed down to 100 proof and poured into authentic Mason jars. “It wasn’t if we were going to put our moonshine in Mason jars, it was how,” says Joe. “Our granddads would kick us in the butt if we did it any other way.” As I explain to Joe Baker the difficulty of trying to pour moonshine from a Mason jar, he immediately gives me the down-home Tennessee answer: “Just drink from it, don’t pour from it!” But Baker and company recognized that it would be difficult for everyone to drink from the jar in a bar, so they innovated a Mason pour spout to make Ole Smoky more bartender-friendly. “It’s one of the bestselling items on our website.” In addition to the traditional Moonshine, Ole Smoky also produces a traditional Apple Pie Moonshine, made from their signature spirit, apple juice, ground cinnamon and spices. They also have White Lighnin’, a 100 proof spirit made from 100% grain neutral spirits, as well as Moonshine Cherries, a jar filled with fresh Maraschino cherries soaked in their 100-proof moonshine. Ole Smoky Moonshine currently ships to retail stores in 14 states (Tennessee, New Jersey, Vermont, Florida, Massachusetts, Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana , Rhode Island, South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado, New York and Oklahoma). They expect to be in 25 states by the end of the summer and potentially all 50 by next year. www.olesmokymoonshine.com august 201 1 / the tasting panel / 91