Hi y’all. There’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. I’m always reminded of it when I drive to Knoxville, which is often. Traveling down I-40 W will lead you past several billboards touting different types of moonshine that you can actually buy at a distillery or at package stores. It’s still unsettling when I see them because I think well, that’s illegal, but well, no, it ain’t no more. You can go up to the village of Gatlinburg and enjoy all sorts of flavors of moonshine. But, is this the real thing? The beverage I’d heard about my whole life? The beverage that so many of my family members have made themselves with such secretive care?

Now, I haven’t ever tried this “tourist moonshine”, which is what I call it. It seems like an attempt to capitalize on Appalachian culture, which is the main reason I haven’t tried it. Perhaps one day I will. I would like to give the distilleries a chance to explain their processes of making it. It just seems like they’re selling one of the secrets of the mountains and I haven’t gotten over that yet. But I suppose it’s only fair that I give them a shot.

Have y’all tried these different types of moonshine? I’d like to hear from you!

TETH