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HOWLING MOON DISTILLERY

My family came to the mountains of Western North Carolina looking for fertile farm land and isolation.  Most of them arrived in Yancey County N.C. in the late 1700's.  They were Scots-Irish, Highland Scots, Welsh, British, and Native American.  They headed for the hollers instead of being close to town.  They lived off the land as subsistence farmers.  There was very little they could not make for themselves or barter for.  Their society and economy existed with very little money.   They were not able to get their crops to market before they would spoil.  To preserve them and be able to generate a profit they had to distill most of their grains, fruit, and sugar cane.  In 1791 the first tax in American history became law.  The whiskey tax was designed to tax full time distilleries based on the size of their still.  It was assumed you distilled full time.  The people of the Appalachian Mountains, who only distilled their whiskies and brandies after they harvested their crops,  would loose money under the new law.  They had no choice.  The Whiskey Rebellion, the first rebellion in American history, foreshadowed several hundreds of years of violence and bloodshed between those fighting to survive and the local, state, and federal governments.  Most hid their stills in the woods and continued distilling by the light of the moon, but some led wars of their on that for the most part has been lost to history.  A large number of the famous outlaw moonshiners were from Western North Carolina and many were my ancestors. Moonshine and Moonshiners became legends.  A legacy still alive today over 225 years later.

Moonshine Stories

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The most famous outlaws from Western North Carolina were Moonshiners.  Discover their stories and our family history here.

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MOUNTAIN MOONSHINE

Our Mountain Moonshine is made with a recipe passed down at least 150 years.  It is made with local corn grown only for Howling Moon by the same farm that grew corn for Popcorn Sutton.   Our Mountain Moonshine won a bronze medal at the most prestigious spirits competition in the world, The San Francisco International Spirits Competition

​“The corn whiskey is 100-proof, and tastes exactly like moonshine should taste if you’ve ever sipped it out of a mason jar next to a bonfire. If you have, then you know.  Except ...there’s a distinct flavor of the sweetest corn that hits the palate as the warmth subsides.”  Mountain Xpress 3/21/2012

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APPLE PIE MOONSHINE

Our Apple Pie Moonshine is made with real cinnamon and fresh Apples that we hand cut then mix in our award winning Mountain Moonshine. We leave the fruit in until all the flavor and color are extracted.  Then we filter the fruit out and bottle it.  Our Apple Pie won N.C. favorite liquor in 2015 and a Silver Medal in the 2019 San Francisco International Spirits Competition, placing higher than any other flavored moonshine in America.  “The apple-pie version smelled of cinnamon and tasted of apples, but the drinker still knows it is moonshine.” The Charlotte Observer October 2, 2012

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STRAWBERRY MOONSHINE

Our Strawberry Moonshine is made with all natural fresh Strawberries.  The Strawberries are added to our award winning Mountain Moonshine and we leave the fruit in until all the flavor and color are extracted. Then we filter the fruit and bottle it.

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