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A Tour of Tennessee Moonshine Distilleries

By: MediaConnect / 11 Jan 2017
A Tour of Tennessee Moonshine Distilleries

Looking to soak up all the history and culture you can while visiting us at the Ramada in Pigeon Forge? There's a lot of tradition to take in, but a favorite cultural expeditions of visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains is a tour of local moonshine distilleries. Moonshine and the people of Appalachia go back for centuries – as early as the first settlers in the area. The distilling of moonshine by local folks helped create a backbone for an economy and community that has grown into the booming society of Appalachia present day. Here are a few of our favorite local distilleries that will give you a literal taste of our history!

 

Two of the best distilleries around are Old Forge Distillery, right here in Pigeon Forge, and Ole Smoky – just down the way in Gatlinburg. The family behind Ole Smoky has been proudly distilling their own moonshine for generations, and now that the federal ban on distilling moonshine in Tennessee has been lifted, they're proudly embracing their history as well as their thriving, legal business. Moonshine was made and sold not for the sole purpose of one's own consumption, but to support the livelihood of the families who were living in new, uncharted territory.

 

So stop in, enjoy the friendly people who have been honing their craft for generations and the delicious spoils of their hard and persistent work. Go ahead and grab a jar to bring back here to the Ramada! And please be sure to drink responsibly.

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