John Whittemore got the corn cultivated on what was likely the hottest day we’ve had so far. This is where our moonshine and whiskey are born, just like it has been on Short Mountain for well over 100 years.

Every Saturday in April, a few of our friends with the Middle Tennessee Mule Skinners Association are bringing their human care takers out to the farm to disc and plant our first organic corn crops.

The weather couldn’t have been more nice up on the mountain. Here’s some video from yesterday featuring the hard work of five mule teams belonging to Andy, Buddy, Terry, Mike and Doug. Here’s more in photos:

Tennessee Crossroads takes you to an annual tradition that honors our agricultural heritage.

Ever since the 1840s, Columbia, TN has played host to an annual gathering of mule breeders. Once called “Breeder’s Day,” the annual Mule Day Parade is now attended by over 200,000 people from around the world.

This year’s Mule Day is March 31 – April 3 in Columbia. There’s square dancing, crafts, a mule-driving contest as well as “working mule”, “best of breed”, and even lumberjack competitions. You might even see a few of the guys who will soon plow and disc our first organic corn crops.

Watch the video above from Tennessee Crossroads and learn about the role mules once played in shipping goods throughout our communities.

If you plan on attending this year, be sure to pick you up a copy of Dixie Longears. Short Mountain Distillery is a proud sponsor (see our center spread) of this inaugural magazine for mule enthusiasts across the country.

As you might have guessed, we like mules.

Pick up the latest Smithville Review to see a short front page article on our progress. It seems like every time the press pays us a visit, they manage to squeeze just a little more out of us.

On the subject of recipes and processes, some of those may be gleaned from the years of practical experience to be found hiding in the surrounding hills.

“One of the things we haven’t talked about too much yet is that we know some local people who know how to make moonshine,” Grantham revealed. “We are talking to some of them about learning some of their processes. We hope to find a good recipe that we can introduce as a legends kind of thing, and use that to connect the old way of doing things with the new.”

The guys at Vendome Copper & Brass Works in Louisville, KY are busy manufacturing our first still. Vendome is a 100 year old, family business going on four generations. They’ve proudly made many of the stills you see at other distilleries here in Tennessee and around the world.

Our first still is a small 30 gallon still we’ll use to perfect recipes and processes, train folks and use in workshops and demonstrations in Stillhouse #1. Its official federal government serial number is TTB #1220!

About every weekend in April, a few local mule teams from the Middle Tennessee Muleskinners Association will give us a hand discing and planting 7 acres of organic corn on the farm.

The Farmer’s Almanac said moon phases favor May 3 – May 10 for planting corn in Woodbury, TN. Some tell us to wait until the the oak leaf buds are as big as a squirrel’s ears, but after this weekend we can’t stand to wait any longer.

Nature has its way of telling you when it’s right. It’s an old fashioned way of doing things up on the mountain, but it gets the job done.

Our t-shirts are here! Celebrate Spring Planting 2011 with a t-shirt from our online General Store, or email John Whittemore (if you can’t catch him in town) or call him 615-971-4925.

These shirts are made in the USA and screen printed in Murfreesboro, TN. They commemorate this year’s Spring planting of our first organic corn with some very special help from our friends and neighbors at the Middle Tennessee Muleskinners Association.

We’ve got an awesome local crew working on this 1,900 square feet building that will soon become the distillery’s stillhouse #1.

This stillhouse will allow us to test formulas and processes, train people, host meetings and workshops and serve as transition space for the main facility. Stillhouse #1 should be complete in April. Right about when it’s as uncomfortable as it can get to cook a batch of moonshine should be about when we’re ready.

Sometime before the stillhouse is built it’s planting time on Short Mountain. It takes a farmer’s instinct to know just the right time to plant and good old American muscle to get it done. We’re 19 days away from Spring, and there’s about 7 acres of organic corn we’ve got to get planted if we’re going to cook it this year.  Wait until you see the mule team we’re fueling up to plant our corn.

You can probably guess that Short Mountain Distillery is located on Short Mountain, but try telling that to your GPS.

And try telling visitors to meet you at the barns a few times. That’s when we thought about getting an address.

After calling around we found out the drive on the farm is so long it qualifies as a lane they’d like for us to name.

It sounds like an awesome opportunity, but we sure could use your help. What do you suggest we name our lane? Your idea could become a part of our history.

Here’s what our address would look like:

Short Mountain Distillery
__________ Ln.
Woodbury, TN 37190

UPDATE 02/23/11 10:04 a.m.: It’s Official! Short Mountain Distillery will be located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane, Woodburry, TN 37190!

We want to thank everyone for your amazing suggestions as we considered names for our road. You are helping us build an American brand we can all be proud of.

A lot of you used “Spirits” and “Mountain” in various way, but two of you actually suggested our name: John and Jelly below and Zendel Murphy on Facebook. Thank you for your role in our history, and we’ll be in touch to figure out the best way to thank you.

The first week of 2011 has kept us busy up here on Short Mountain, and we are so fortunate to have you come along with us as we build something very special.

We probably won’t say it nearly enough, but y’all are rocking our Facebook! It’s humbling to see our community grow each and every day. Here’s a little update from the past week just for you.

TEAM: Earlier this week, Billy Kaufman and I traveled to the Maker’s Mark Lounge in Louisville, KY to taste the differences between world class bourbons with former Maker’s Mark Master Distiller David Pickerell (photo).

We are very pleased to announce David has joined our team to help us get up and running. David brings years of experience and wisdom to the growing craft spirits industry and recently helped re-establish George Washington’s historic distillery at Mt. Vernon.

LOGO: We selected our logo from several very good candidates. You’ll see this more and more in different formats, but keep an eye out for it on a “Future Home Of” sign just off of Short Mountain Rd. very soon.

ARCHITECT: Speaking of future homes, we’re very excited to announce the selection of Marcus Dipietro as the distillery’s architect. Marcus was one of three extremely qualified candidates who visited the farm over the past couple of months. We can’t wait to share some of the first renderings of what the facility will look like.

Be sure to pick up the January / February edition of Wilson Living Magazine, and check out this wonderful story written by Chris Tramel who recently paid us a visit on the farm.

Here’s an excerpt from the article online:

Kaufman says Short Mountain Distillery is a chance to bring history full circle. “This is part of the culture of the area. We can take what my great-grandfather did in getting started in this area, and now use it to keep people in this area.”

According to Kaufman it will be at least a year before even a drop of whiskey is produced, but with a building only in the planning stages, the first fields have been plowed for next year’s corn crop. “We’re going to make aged whiskey, and that will take a while. To start out we’ll probably employ less than a dozen people directly, but we hope to see it grow into something bigger.”

However, Kaufman says his company will also have a commitment to the community by growing organically and using local resources as part of their operation. That commitment will mean more jobs not directly related to the distillery.

“We’ll only be buying local corn. It’s all going to be coming out of this area. We don’t want to put a single thing in our whiskey that’s not local. I feel more strongly about buying local than growing organically.