Ole Smoky Setting the Pace for Moonshie

FOOD & DRINK

By Carroll R. Walton, carroll@insidetailgating.com

It’s been 10 years since Tennessee legalized the production and sale of moonshine and a little less than that since Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery opened its doors—officially anyway.

One of the nation’s biggest moonshine distributors traces its roots to the early settlers of the Smoky Mountains and a group of families who have been making and running “the hooch” for more than 100 years. Now they’re just paying taxes on it!

“This isn’t just moonshine, it’s moonshine made with authenticity and enduring pride from the people of the Appalachians,” Ole Smoky boasts on its website (https://olesmoky.com/).

Lucky for us “white lightning” is easy to get now and Ole Smoky is leading the way. Ole Smoky Moonshine is available in 49 states and sold at stores like Walmart and Sam’s Club. It is served in cocktails at neighborhood bars and restaurants around the country. Like the old days, Ole Smoky Moonshine is still sold in mason jars, but now it comes in 20 different flavors, everything from apple pie to chocolate chili.

“We tried to embrace the rich knowledge and expertise of (East Tennessee) instead of just basing it on my granddad’s recipe,” Ole Smoky founder Joe Baker told Time Magazine. “We took the best of a lot of different recipes and came up with a product that we think best represents the area.”

Now that moonshine is so easily accessible, it’s a snap to make your own moonshine cocktail recipes at home and at your tailgates. To that end, Inside Tailgating has picked five Ole Smoky recipes to try this spring and summer out in the parking lots. There is no more fitting a beverage to serve at a NASCAR tailgate than moonshine, by the way. The original stock car drivers were all bootleggers! (A reminder from the folks at Ole Smoky: please “shine” responsibly.)

5 Ole Smoky Cocktail Recipes

Ole Smoky Dirty Shirley

2.5 oz. Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries® Juice 2.5 oz. Lemon-Lime Soda

Mix well in a glass over ice and garnish with Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries.

Ole Smoky Hillbilly Icicle

2 oz. Ole Smoky Razzin’ Berry Moonshine 1 oz. Ole Smoky White Lightnin’ 2 oz. Lemon-Lime soda

Mix ingredients well in a glass over ice and garnish with lemon twist.

Ole Smoky Blackberry Lemonade

2.5 oz. Ole Smoky® Blackberry Moonshine 2.5 oz. Lemonade

Mix well in a glass over ice and garnish with fresh lemon wedge and blackberries (optional.)

Ole Smoky Ginger Apple

2.5 oz. Ole Smoky® Apple Pie Moonshine 2.5 oz. Ginger Ale

Mix ingredients well in glass over ice and garnish with a fresh apple slice (optional.)

Ole Smoky Fire Hound

1.5 oz. Ole Smoky Blue Flame Moonshine 3 oz. Grapefruit Juice .5 oz. Elderflower (optional)

Mix well in a glass over ice and garnish with fresh grapefruit slice.

Check out more Food & Drink at insidetailgating.com