If you walk into an any liquor store or scan a local cocktail menu, you’ll see plenty of liquors distilled right here in Asheville and throughout WNC — from gin to rum to cordials. But as you peruse, you also might see one spirit closely associated with the Appalachian Mountains: moonshine.

But before you take a swig, get familiar with the history of this infamous intoxicant.

Distilling a definition

Technically, moonshine refers to any liquor made illegally. The term was first applied to liquor in 1785.
Making moonshine was a way to get around high liquor taxes levied by the federal government in the 18th and 19th centuries. DYK: Liquor taxes are among the highest in the country, bringing in over $13 per gallon sold federally and $1.11 per gallon sold in NC?
Other names for moonshine include white lightning, hooch, firewater, rotgut — and mountain dew. And yes, Mountain Dew and moonshine were once connected. It was first made to be a mixer for whiskey, and the name was a deliberate marketing technique.
It can be made of anything fermentable — like fruit, grains, or even milk.
Most of the moonshine made in this area — and what you’ll buy from stores or sip in cocktails at local restaurants — is distilled from corn and unaged.

Origins in Appalachia

Moonshine was first made in the US in Pennsylvania and other areas of Appalachia where grain was a major agricultural crop. In Southern Appalachia, corn was plentiful, and Scots-Irish settlers brought their distillation methods with them to create it.
In the early to mid-20th century, moonshine runners souped-up cars to deliver products faster — often in automobiles that looked slow and heavy but that had been tailored to carry a maximum amount of product without drawing suspicion. Many of these bootleg drivers got interested in stock car racing after the end of Prohibition, when demand for moonshine waned. That’s how NASCAR was born.
Perhaps the most famous moonshiner of them all was Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton (1946-2009), who distributed his wares all over WNC and beyond. He was born and lived in Maggie Valley.

Color photo offset of an authentic moonshine still. I Photo courtesy of Buncombe County Special Collections.

Moonshine’s big break

The 1958 film "Thunder Road," starring Robert Mitchum, followed an outlaw moonshiner who made his deliveries in souped-up cars throughout Tennessee + Kentucky. It was filmed mostly in Woodfin and became a cult classic.

Legalizing liquor (sort of)

Home-brewing wine + beer became legal in 1978 — but it’s still illegal to home-brew liquor + spirits for private consumption.
In 2009, Tennessee became the first state to legalize moonshine (unaged white whiskey) when it loosened liquor distillation laws as a way to bring in funds during the Great Recession. Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery in TN was one of the first to open, in 2010. It’s sold traditionally in mason jars.
Many moonshine traditionalists still go by the old belief that if it’s legal, it isn’t really moonshine.

Sip, sip, hooray

Try it for yourself from one of these local distillers.

Asheville Distilling Company

The home of Troy & Sons does tours and tastings at their distillery (12 Old Charlotte Hwy.) and offers flavored + original moonshine for sale.

Howling Moon Distillery

Established in 2010, Howling Moon makes flavors like peach + apple pie, plus their original, using a 150-year-old recipe.