A new chapter began yesterday in the story of Tennessee’s whiskey making heritage when three living legends of moonshine making signed a deal with Short Mountain Distillery.

Jimmy Simpson, Ricky Estes and Ronald Lawson (pictured left to right) all grew up in Cannon County around Short Mountain where some families on hard times relied on illicit moonshine to make ends meet. It’s a story of struggle, honor, and perseverance, and it’s the story of America.

A change in state law created an opportunity for their treasured craft to finally come out in the open. The three men bring with them over 100 years of history and backwoods whiskey making experience to our distillery.

Here’s an excerpt from a story by local CBS television affiliate News Channel 5 (WTVF). Check back for links to local newspaper articles as they post.

“It’s kind of a dream come true. I don’t think that any of us ever realized we would be making moonshine legally,” said Simpson.

They are using the same locally grown ingredients and the same method but this time, following the law.

“We know what we are doing. I might not talk very well, but I know how to make moonshine,” said Estes.

“It’s really something worth preserving,” said Short Mountain founder, Billy Kaufman.

Kaufman built the distillery to save what he calls a dying art and a lost piece of the area’s heritage.

“They might be lost in another 10 to 20 years and no one knows how to do these things again,” said Kaufman.

Short Mountain Distillery will open to the public March 23. Be sure to see this story in the Murfreesboro Post, Smithville Review and Cannon Courier:

• February 23, 2012 Smithville Review – Moonshiners Go Legit
• February 23, 2012 Murfreesboro Post – Cannon County Moonshiners ‘Go Legal’

They’re pink, blue and white and represent a good year’s worth of ignoring television and Twitter.

This isn’t all of the permits required before we can legally sell our authentic Tennessee Moonshine, but combined with the others they ought to get us from Memphis to Bristol without too much worry about going to prison. Now if we can keep the ’51 Chevy pickup under 70MPH as we travel the state, we should be fine.

God Bless America, and God Bless the Shine.

Ben talks colors with Mike for the ’51 Chevy’s paint job.

We’re all just a little jealous. While some of us will be making moonshine, Billy, Ben and Christian will be touring the state of Tennessee later this Spring in this sweet ’51 Chevy pickup truck.

And what could be more fun than driving around in a ’51 Chevy selling our moonshine!? Mike says he put in a 305 roller out of a 25th Anniversary Camaro. I guess that ought to do it … if we were bootleggin’ it.

Homemade moonshine is often proofed by “checking the bead,” shaking it to see the size and duration of bubbles.

Most people around the world know Tennessee for two things: country music and whiskey. They kinda go together if you think about it. Since a change in state law allowed more distilleries, whiskey’s spirited cousin promises to put Tennessee moonshine on the global map.

Ole Smoky plans to open second distillery
Ole Smoky Distillery, a Tennessee-based moonshine distillery, plans to expand operations and open its second distillery in the Smoky Mountain town to meet the demand for its products. Ole Smoky co-owner Joe Baker said he and Chuck Edwards have purchased Legends Restaurant on the downtown Parkway and will make different spirits at that site.

More moonshine distilleries in the planning stages:

‘Full Throttle Saloon’ TV star plans to open distillery in Trimble
Ballard, the star of the wildly popular reality series “Full Throttle Saloon” on the truTV network and successful business owner, received permission from the Trimble Board of Mayor and Aldermen to open a 9,000-square-foot moonshine distillery at the eastern end of South Main Street, where a cotton gin once stood.

Tennessee has a few moonshines on the market in addition to Ole Smoky. Collier and McKeel’s White Dog is a traditional sour mash recipe of corn, rye and malted barley used to make their aged Tennessee Whiskey. Popcorn Sutton’s Tennessee White Whiskey uses a recipe of a third generation Moonshiner that lived and distilled his moonshine whiskey in Cocke County. Corsair offers Wry Moon Unaged Kentucky Whiskey and Pumpkin Spice Moonshine and Prichard’s Distillery produces Lincoln County Lightning Whiskey.

At Short Mountain Distillery, we just received federal label approval for our first moonshine: Short Mountain Shine, a 105 proof authentic Tennessee moonshine. It’s made using a family recipe handed down for generations made with organic corn and spring water from our farm.

Y’all know I’m not one to start fights, but what was said in this video clip from the short-lived Moonshiners dramatization about one of Tennessee’s more famous moonshiners, Popcorn Sutton, just ain’t right. But as author Max Watman pointed out on Facebook, there was a lot not right with that hoax of a show.

Let me start by saying I never knew or met Popcorn Sutton, and it’s sad that he took his life given the options he had to elevate the craft of whiskey and moonshine making. That said, someone has clearly told Popcorn’s widow a few white lies.

“We have a distillery set up in Nashville, TN.” Popcorn Sutton’s widow Pam says in the video above. “We can’t legally call it moonshine. We have to call it Tennessee White Whiskey, and also Popcorn’s liquor is the first White Whiskey that the federal government has approved.”

It’s not a big secret that Popcorn Sutton does not have a distillery in Nashville. They are using another company’s federally registered distillery, and there’s nothing wrong with saying that.

Maybe Jamey Grosser knew Popcorn well enough to know he didn’t care what Jamey called it, but it’s perfectly legal to call it what it is: moonshine. Google it. Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine, Original Moonshine, Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine, Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon Moonshine, Georgia Moon Moonshine, and our very own Short Mountain Shine – Tennessee Moonshine.

Despite what Pam was told, Popcorn’s recipe is hardly the first to call itself “White Whiskey,” a term that simply means they ran it through a barrel fast enough to convince the federal government that it’s whiskey. Again, there’s nothing wrong with that, but let’s be honest. We all have Google.

Read also:

• Who Makes Popcorn Sutton’s Tennessee White Whiskey? And Why Call it “Wild?” – Rowley’s Whiskey Forge
• Moonshiners dramatization passed off as reality TV – Christian Grantham

(Woodbury, TN, USA) – Earlier today, Short Mountain Distillery became Tennessee’s newest licensed distillery. The state and federal permits come months after supporters changed Cannon County law by referendum to allow distilleries as well as securing federal permits and completing construction of Still House #1.

Short Mountain Distillery will make a Tennessee sour mash white whiskey (moonshine) from a family recipe handed down for generations in Cannon County. The traditional recipe and process will use locally grown corn that is stone milled on site. Distillery owners, the Kaufman brothers, hope to reconnect visitors with the nation’s agricultural heritage and whiskey making traditions by creating a unique destination.

“Once people experience how our product was made here for generations, they’ll make moonshine America’s drink,” said Billy Kaufman, farmer and Short Mountain Distillery CEO.

Short Mountain Distillery’s traditional process will use local stone milled grain and Tennessee spring water to create a sour mash moonshine, a Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. Tourist will be able to follow the spent grain back into the farm process and take the Cave Spring Trail to experience why Tennessee is the perfect location for whiskey making. Visitors will also learn from legendary moonshiners of Short Mountain as they demonstrate processes handed down for generations.

Short Mountain Distillery is owned by the Kaufman brothers: Billy, David and Ben. They are the great grand children of Jesse Shwayder, who 100 years ago founded the iconic American brand Samsonite. Their grandfather, Louis Degen, brought Samsonite to Murfreesboro decades ago bringing steady work to many local families.

Short Mountain Distillery will begin production in January 2012 and open for distillery and farm tours March 23, 2012. The distillery is working to become USDA Certified Organic within a year.

John Whittemore shares how to grow Shiitake mushrooms on a native white oak log. If done right, these logs will produce mushrooms for several years.

Nothing goes better with good friends and good drinks than good food. Saturday October 29 at 2 p.m. Short Mountain Distillery is offering our first workshop on cultivating your own Shiitake mushroom log. This workshop is in conjunction with Little Short Mountain Farm. Space is very limited and available by reservation and $30 by emailing John Whittemore at blueshillfarm46@yahoo.com or calling 615-216-0830.

John has been growing Shiitake mushrooms for market and personal use for seven years. Guests will use a drill to inoculate their own white oak log with Shiitake mycelium from Summertown, TN and learn how you can keep it producing several pounds of these beneficial mushrooms for years to come.

We got some great news Friday that our federal permit was approved: Permit # TN-S-15007 and REGISTRATION  DSP-TN-15009.

We still need the state’s approval before moonshine flows again from Short Mountain like it has for over 100 years. but our t-shirts came just in time for the small milestone.

Just like the first one, these shirts were made in the U.S.A. and screen printed by a 20 year old family business in Murfreesboro, TN. They come in papaya (red), black, and navy (blue) and says “Short Mountain Distillery” in white across the chest. You can purchase them online through our General Store.

We’re proud of our relationship with our friends and neighbors, and we hope you’ll wear this t-shirt with the same sense of pride we do!

John Whittemore shares how organic and permaculture farm practices used by Short Mountain Distillery honor our agricultural heritage. You can hear the guys from the CO-OP putting together our grain bin in the back ground.

Short Mountain Distillery planted 7 acres of organic corn you see featured in this video. The test went very well, and John is busy planning 20 rotational acres of organic corn on Billy’s 300 acre farm for next year.

Sheriff Robert Goodwin (left) of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department makes a moonshine bust September 30, 1950 in Murfreesboro, TN

We know our history, and we know you are a part of it. Short Mountain Distillery is looking for family stories and moonshine recipes to share with the world in a book to be published in conjunction with our grand opening.

One thing we learned from talking with our neighbors over the past year is that nearly everyone we know has an amazing story about a relative or friend who made moonshine. The secrets families once kept for generations by Tennesseans are treasured stories of a hidden craft that defines the ingenious American spirit in the face of trying times.

Maybe your grandmother made a special cough medicine or your uncle had the perfect mixed drink recipe. Maybe your family had a special plan that kept the revenuers at bay. No matter how long or short, we’re looking for everything from stories of survival and close calls to cherished memories of times gone by.