Making Moonshine: one small town mayor's passion

Making Moonshine: one small town mayor’s passion

LeeAnna Tatum editor@southernsoil.org

Making moonshine is a tradition with deep roots in southern soil going back to the Civil War when the US Government createdthe IRS to exact luxury taxes on items includingalcohol. That’s when distillers went underground toavoid the additional fees. Moonshiners have beendodging the law for one reason or another eversince.

Even today, the allure of making moonshine iscompelling and there is a long tradition of legal andillegal distilleries that still dot the landscape southof the Mason-Dixon. Utilizing the grains and fruitsthat are locally abundant, these renegades of theliquor world create their own unique flavor profilesand whiskey concoctions while oftentimes skirtingthe law and almost always flaunting convention.

Though technically speaking, whiskey is only moonshine if it’s made or distributed illegally, today it is also a term used to describe any clear unaged whiskey. Which is why you can walk into Midnight Run Distillery in downtown Bartow - two doors down from the police station - and buy yourself a bottle or three of honest to goodness moonshine. Oh, and the guy behind the counter selling it to you? Well, he’s the town Mayor, of course.

Like countless moonshiners before him, Dwayne Morris is obsessed with creating his own version of white lightening. “It gets in your blood. You’re taking something that’s absolutely nothin’ and turning it into something.”

Everything about the Midnight Run Distillery is a throwback to earlier times from the copper still to a sealed-with-a-handshake style of doing business. Even the storefront location on Main Street, just down the road from one of the oldest operating cotton gins in the country, is a nod to the region’s history.

“This [still] right here is old school,” Morris said proudly. “If you had found one on the creek bank, this is what you would’ve found. A copper pot and two barrels … I can promise you the old school copper makes the better whiskey.”

Morris creates his small-batch spirits himself, from acquiring the ingredients to bottling the final product (he even designed his own firehouse inspired

label). He also has developed his own recipes forthe all natural flavorings used in his array of flavoredmoonshines.

Morris sources his ingredients as closeto home as possible. “We makeeverything out of all natural ingredients.We get our peachesfrom South Carolina, our blackberriescome from Twin City, theblueberries come from Swainsboro …the corn and the wheat come from Davisboro, andare products of local farmers.”

As a Bartow native going back several generationsand current Mayor of the town, Morris’ ties to thecommunity are strong. He hopes that the distillerycan be a catalyst of growth for his hometown,serving as a destination point and encouraging aneconomic resurgence.

Morris is a 35-year veteran of the Augusta FireDepartment and proudly incorporates the Maltese cross and other firefighting symbols into his logoand throughout the distillery’s decor. With plans toretire from the AFD at the end of 2018, Morris islooking to expand operations by partnering with a second distributor, taking his moonshine into an additional 15 - 20states.

He also plans to have his flavorings approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau(TTB), opening other avenues for the business. “All of the whiskeys are approved as far as formulas.The only thing that isn’t approved are the flavors.We’re going to send the flavors off and get them approved as TTB approved flavorings. Once we do that, we’ll be able to make the flavorings and sell them to other distilleries,” Morris explained.

What was it that drew Morris into moonshining?

“It’s easier than roofing houses and riding ambulances,”he said. “I’d always been interested in distillation or seeing if I could make whiskey. People think about it and you won’t never know if you can unless you try. I started trying and the next thing I knew, I got to likin’ it. The thing is, when I started this, I had to make the decision, was I going to make it to drink it or was I going to make it to sell it?”

Fortunately for his customers, he decided to sell.

The State of Georgia doesn’t make it easy, however. With tight liquor laws, the State lags behind its neighbors in facilitating the sale of alcohol from distillers directly to consumers. Currently, the law allows a maximum of three bottles to be sold per person, per day. Though no such limits exist for retailers. This is, of course, an improvement over previous restrictions which did not allow for direct sales at all beyond tours and a “souvenir” bottle.

Midnight Run Distillery moonshines and whiskeysare available through retailers served by AtlantaBeverage Company and AB Beverage Company.

But if you have the time, take a trip on over toBartow, meet the Mayor, toss back a few shots, andtake home your own bottle of a Southern tradition.

Because Morris splits his time between his full time job as firefighter, his responsibilities as Mayor and running the storefront and distillery - hours of operation vary. Check out the Midnight Run Distillery’s Facebook page for their current schedule before making the drive to Bartow.