Ole Smoky Distillery

Last updated

Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine is a corn whiskey distillery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Their downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee facility features two working copper stills. Visitors are able to see the distilling process up close while learning about the history of moonshine production in the Smoky Mountains. [1] $5 samples are offered. [2] A second distillery, dubbed The Barn, opened in fall 2014 in Pigeon Forge. [3] Ole Smoky opened a new facility called Mashville next to Yazoo Brewing Company in the heart of Nashville in the spring of 2019. From 2020 to 2022, the Ole Smoky Distillery was the most visited distillery in the world. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

History

When Tennessee state law changed to allow the distillation of spirits, Ole Smoky Distillery, LLC became the first federally licensed distillery in the history of East Tennessee. [7] The distillery opened the weekend of July 4, 2010. At opening, it was one of only four distilleries operating in the state. Jack Daniel's and George Dickel received their licenses before Prohibition, [8] [9] and Benjamin Prichard's opened their Tennessee facility in 1997. [10]

In February 2022, Apax Partners, a global private equity firm, acquired a majority stake in Ole Smoky. [11] [12]

Products

Currently,[ when? ] Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine nationally retails fifteen flavors of moonshine made using authentic East Tennessee recipes, jarred and shipped directly from the company's Gatlinburg distillery. Original Moonshine (100 proof), White Lightnin' (100 proof), Lightnin' Line (80 proof): Strawberry Lightnin', Lemon Drop Lightnin' and Hunch Punch Lightnin', and the 40 proof line including: Moonshine Cherries, Peach Moonshine, Apple Pie Moonshine, Blackberry Moonshine, Strawberry Moonshine, Lemon Drop Moonshine, Pineapple Moonshine, Watermelon Moonshine, Sweet Tea Moonshine and Charred Moonshine are available selectively in 49 states and Canada. [13] The distillery uses a 100-year-old family recipe, which was perfected with the help of Dave Pickerell, who served as the Master Distiller for Maker's Mark for over 15 years. The ingredients are locally sourced.

Ole Smoky Distillery also produces a peanut butter whiskey that received ten well-known spirits awards in November 2020. [14]

Media reaction

Media coverage of Ole Smoky's opening included a visit by the Today Show [15] and an appearance on Martha Stewart Living Radio. They continue to garner national media coverage in major press and consumer publications. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whisky</span> Distilled alcoholic beverage

Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bourbon whiskey</span> Type of American whiskey

Bourbon whiskey is a type of barrel-aged American whiskey made primarily from corn (maize). The name derives from the French House of Bourbon, although the precise source of inspiration is uncertain; contenders include Bourbon County, Kentucky, and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both of which are named after the House of Bourbon. The name bourbon might not have been used until the 1850s, and the association with Bourbon County was not evident until the 1870s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rye whiskey</span> Distilled alcoholic beverage

Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee whiskey</span> Type of American whiskey

Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "bourbon" and do not label them as such on any of their bottles or advertising materials. All current Tennessee whiskey producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskeys in Tennessee and – with the sole exception of Benjamin Prichard's – to use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey. Beyond the perceived marketing value of the distinction, Tennessee whiskey and bourbon have almost identical requirements, and most Tennessee whiskeys meet the criteria for bourbon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Daniel's</span> Whiskey brand

Jack Daniel's is a brand of Tennessee whiskey. It is produced in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by the Jack Daniel Distillery, which has been owned by the Brown–Forman Corporation since 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Dickel</span> Brand of whisky produced in the State of Tennessee

George Dickel is a brand of Tennessee whisky produced in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, Tennessee. Today owned by Diageo, the modern brand was introduced in 1964, though the distillery has a longer history. Whisky production and aging takes place at the Cascade Hollow Distillery, which offers tours to the public and is part of the American Whiskey Trail. George Dickel operates the second-largest distillery in Tennessee, selling 130,000 cases in 2013, while the largest is Jack Daniel's, which sold 11.5 million cases the same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln County Process</span>

The Lincoln County Process is a step used in producing almost all Tennessee whiskeys. The whiskey is filtered through—or steeped in—charcoal chips before going into the casks for aging. The process is named for Lincoln County, Tennessee, which was the location of Jack Daniel's distillery at the time of its establishment, but is no longer used in that county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apax Partners</span> British private equity firm

Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of March 2024, the firm had raised and advised funds of approximately $77 billion (USD). Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis.

The American Whiskey Trail is the name of a promotional program supported by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States that promotes the distilled beverage industry in the U.S. The Trail was first promoted to the public on September 28, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American whiskey</span> Type of distilled liquor produced in the United States

American whiskey is whiskey produced in the United States. American whiskeys made from mashes with at least 51% of their named grains include bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey, rye malt whiskey, malt whiskey, wheat whiskey, Tennessee whiskey, and corn whiskey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popcorn Sutton</span> American moonshiner and bootlegger (1946–2009)

Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton was an American Appalachian moonshiner and bootlegger. Born in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, he grew up, lived and died in the rural areas around Maggie Valley and nearby Cocke County, Tennessee. He wrote a self-published autobiographical guide to moonshining production, self-produced a home video depicting his moonshining activities, was the subject of several documentaries, including one that received a Regional Emmy Award, and is the subject of the award-winning biography and photobook The Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton.

Benjamin Prichard's Tennessee Whiskey is a brand of Tennessee whiskey produced in the small community of Kelso, Tennessee in the United States. Although it is produced by one of only two distilleries operating in Lincoln County – and its unaged variation is named Lincoln County Lightning – Prichard's is not produced using the Lincoln County Process. Due to a special grandfathering exemption under a Tennessee law enacted in 2013, the Prichard's distillery in Kelso is the only producer allowed to label its product as "Tennessee Whiskey" without using this process. Prichard's whiskey is produced entirely using pot stills rather than column stills.

MGP Ingredients, Inc. is a distilled spirits and food ingredients producer with headquarters in Atchison, Kansas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collier and McKeel</span>

Collier and McKeel is a brand of Tennessee whiskey produced in Nashville. The whiskey was originally distilled by Tennessee Distilling Company, a corporation founded in 2009 in Franklin, Tennessee, by former Tennessee state representative Mike Williams. The brand was sold to North Coast Spirits, a California business group, in 2014, but distillation and other operations remained in Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chattanooga Whiskey Company</span>

The Chattanooga Whiskey Company is a producer of bourbon whiskey and "Tennessee High Malt" bourbon whiskey, located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The company was founded by Tim Piersant and Joe Ledbetter. The brand was launched in April 2012, and the company simultaneously announced its intention to help change local distilling laws. The launch met with some initial criticism, primarily due to where the product was made, but Hamilton County laws prohibited the manufacture of "intoxicating liquors" at the time. Local public awareness eventually became a catalyst in galvanizing support to change Prohibition-era distilling laws. In March 2015, the company opened the first legal distillery in Chattanooga since Prohibition. The first experimental whiskey, "Batch 001: Tennessee High Malt", was released in August 2017.

MB Roland Distillery is a Pembroke, Kentucky based craft distillery, opened in 2009. It is known as Kentucky's first modern completely "grain to glass" craft distillery.

Fog's End Distillery is one of the first pioneers in California's craft distilling movement. The distillery is located in Gonzales, California. The distillery produces a range of Craft spirits, under the direction of Head Distiller Henry Wales, and Steven Wales. Fog's End is known for producing award-winning small batch runs of Moonshine, Rum, and Gin.

Master distiller is a title often used for a distilling expert or a key leader or owner at modern distilleries. The title doesn't have a fixed definition and can mean different things at different companies. Although the craft of distilling has existed for centuries throughout history, the term "master distiller" only dates back as far as the 1800s when it was first used to acknowledge the distilling expertise and knowledge a person gained after practicing and perfecting the craft of distilling for many years. In more recent usage, the term can have a much broader meaning and is sometimes used for owners and company leaders who run their companies but do not actively create the distilling recipes and processes used at their distilleries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of whisky</span> Distilled alcoholic beverage

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:

References

  1. ↑ “The Hidden History of Moonshine In The Smoky Mountains”. Travel To Gatlinburg
  2. ↑ Cynthia Yeldell (June 9, 2010). "Ole Smoky Distillery to debut moonshine Business to open in Gatlinburg on July 2 with free tours, samples". knoxnews.com. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Moonshine store plans to open in Pigeon Forge". Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  4. ↑ Harris, Alivia (2020-02-04). "Ole Smoky Distilleries named most visited distillery in the world". WVLT. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  5. ↑ Hill, Paige (2022-01-25). "Ole Smoky Distilleries most visited in the world with over 5.7M guests in 2021". WVLT. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  6. ↑ "Ole Smoky Again Named the Most Visited Distillery in the World In 2022". Yahoo Finance. 2023-02-14. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  7. ↑ "There's Moonshine in the Smokies · Gatlinburg Press RoomGatlinburg Press Site". Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  8. ↑ "Jack Daniel's Distillery". Archived from the original on 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  9. ↑ "Distillery Visit: George Dickel". Alcademics.
  10. ↑ "Prichard's Distillery History". Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
  11. ↑ "Apax Acquires Ole Smoky Distillery". Mergers&Acquisitions. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  12. ↑ Brooker, Alice (2022-02-14). "Ole Smoky Distillery sells stake to Apax". The Spirits Business. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  13. ↑ "Ole Smoky Kicks it up a Notch with New 80 Proof Lightnin' Line". Ole Smoky Moonshine.
  14. ↑ Sadler, Megan (November 10, 2020). "Ole Smoky Distillery receives ten awards for peanut butter whiskey". WVLT-TV. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  15. ↑ Jenna Wolfe (January 23, 2011). "Moonshine goes mainstream with micro-distilleries". today.com. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  16. ↑ "Private Equity Dips into Moonshine - Private Equity Beat - WSJ". Archived from the original on 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2017-08-04.

35°42′39″N83°31′10″W / 35.71087°N 83.51936°W / 35.71087; -83.51936

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.