When the owner of Asheville Distilling Co. went looking for the perfect moonlight recipe, she was serious. She tested many recipes until she distilled the perfect white liquor in 2010. Their secret? Crooked Creek corn – an open-pollinated white corn. In fact, it`s the only distillery in the world that makes moonshine from this corn and pure Appalachian spring water, so if you`re looking for a truly authentic South American moonlight, this is the one you should try. Joe Michalek will never forget his first taste of moonlight. He was at a blues jam session in Pinnacle, Stokes County, in the skirts of Pilot Mountain when someone handed him a drink. He took a nervous sip but was relieved. What he thought was terrible was smooth and delicious, with a peach-like sweetness.
On his next encounter with a mysterious drink, Michalek was braver. This time, the drink tasted like strawberries, but it had the same clean finish. The Howling Moon distillery is also located in Asheville, North Carolina, and is named after its earliest ancestors who distilled their illegal moonlight into moonlight. Their “Mountain Moonshine” is made with a recipe that is at least 150 years old and local corn grown exclusively for the distillery. With 100 proofs, he has it all. But you can take a step back by trying one of their flavored moonbeams like strawberry, peach, or apple pie. Also based in Charlotte, Dragon Moonshine Company is a veteran-owned craft distillery. The owner of the company brought his love of moonlight from the time he made it in a makeshift distillery in his military barracks to a world-class distillery in the area. With two delicious moonlight flavors, apple pie and amaretto, you`ll want to try both. They also offer a Caribbean-style silver rum made from pure cane sugar and molasses.
All Piedmont spirits are made in 300-gallon batches – enough to fill approximately 1,500 750 ml jars or bottles. To date, the products are sold in 32 states. The company is working hard to outperform the new competition. When Michalek started, only two other legal distilleries in the country were selling corn-based spirits. Today, dozens of products are marketed with “moonlight” on the label. Piedmont is no longer the only distillery in North Carolina. There are now two other assets – Carolina Distillery in Lenoir, which makes apple brandy, and Southern Artisan Spirits in Kings Mountain, which makes gin. There is nothing nebulous about moonlight laws, Lasater said. North Carolina laws prohibit the production or possession of moonlight or untaxed alcohol if you want to be technical. Moonshine dates back to illegal Appalachian distillers and goes by all sorts of colorful nicknames like Mountain Dew, Tennessee White Whiskey, and Hooch. It is legal to own a still and use a still for non-ethanol production such as distilling water or making essential oils, as long as ethanol is not a by-product.
When the drink is sold, the North Carolina Department of Revenue charges a tax rate of $31.70 per gallon of moonshine, according to department spokeswoman Beth Stevenson. The rate is $12.80 per gallon if not sold by the drink, while porridge is taxed at $1.28 per gallon and other illegal mixed beverages are taxed at $20 per 4 liters, or about a gallon. By the way, hooch may be illegal, but tax offices still take their share, Lasater noted. Although moonshine originally refers to high-strength spirits distilled as early as the 1800s without government approval, things have changed in recent years. Since 2010, moonshine is no longer illegal in the United States, but it still has the same blow it still has. Usually made from corn porridge, moonshine is a clear, unaged whisky whose strength can vary from 40 to 100 proofs (that`s 50% ABV!). And because its roots are firmly rooted in Appalachia, there are now more than 30 distilleries in North Carolina where you can sample a bit of these famous spirits while experiencing a bit of Southern culture. Norris says the FTA cracked down on several illegal moonlight operations near his distillery. He believes it is difficult for many to abandon the tradition of smuggling.