Moonshine: Gatlinburg’S Secret Is Out
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MOONSHINE: GATLINBURG’S SECRET IS OUT By: Mark Coffman Master Distiller and Chief Engineer of Alltech Why Gatlinburg? How did the sleepy towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, become a tourism colossus? Driven by the fame of country singer Dolly Parton, this area has become a mecca for: • Tourists • Thousands of jobs • Moonshine Are you ready for your own Gatlinburg? Why Gatlinburg? • Gatlinburg today is now a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee • Cherokee Indians were located in this area. • Early settlers were veterans of the American Revolution or War of 1812 • In the 1880s, the invention of the band saw and the logging railroad led to a boom in the lumber industry • Lumber companies were forced to push deeper into the mountain areas of the Appalachian highlands • Extensive logging in the early 1900s led to increased calls by conservationists for federal action, and in 1911, Congress passed the Weeks Act to allow for the purchase of land for national forests Why Gatlinburg? Why Gatlinburg? • The Federal Government purchase of 76,000 acres of the Little River Lumber Company tract in 1926 • Movement quickly became a reality • In spite of resistance from lumberers in the area and difficulties with the Tennessee legislature, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was opened in 1934. • In 1934, the first year of the park, an estimated 40,000 visitors passed through the city. • Within a year, this number had increased exponentially to 500,000. • From 1940 to 1950, the cost of land in Gatlinburg increased from $50 to $8,000 per acre. Why Gatlinburg? • Population Estimate from 2015: 4,184 • Tourists Estimate from 2015: 12,000,000 • Sevier County brought in $2 billion in revenue from tourism alone last year • Sevier County became the number three county as far as economic impact for tourism • Behind, Nashville and Memphis • Tourism accounts for employment of 18,000 people • Unemployment Rate: 0.6% What is Moonshine? So, when did moonshine begin? • Making spirits goes back at least 1,500 years • It was born at the time a government decided that there were legal and illegal producers of spirits • This was all in an effort for a government to levy taxes on distilled spirits What is Moonshine? • By 1500 AD, some nations had begun regulating the production of hard alcohol • Russia first taxed it in 1474 • Scotland started in 1506 • Governments found this to be a trove of revenue. • The result is that licenses were required to produce and sell alcohol, and they imposed taxes. • Nearly 150 years ago, most Western governments support their activities through tariffs and excise taxes. • Those who could not afford to or did not wish to pay fees on alcohol became the earliest moonshiners. What is Moonshine? • Moonshine is a strong, usually colorless liquor. • For most of its history, it was untaxed, unlicensed and illegal, brewed up in the mountains of eastern Tennessee, often by the light of the moon. • It goes by the monikers of white lightnin’, mountain dew, corn likker or white mule. • The XXX on the label supposedly signifies that it was triple-distilled for extra purity. What is Moonshine? • Moonshine is a global phenomenon that is consumed by people worldwide. • It goes by many names and is produced from a variety of fermented foodstuffs, most of which were locally grown raw materials. • Americans produced moonshine from: • blackberries, • persimmons, • plums, • whortleberries, • sassafras barks, • Burch barks, • corn stalks, • hickory nuts, and • small grains. Armenia oghee grapes, plums or apricots Myanmar toddy palm tree sap Croatia rakija grapes or plums Norway hjemmebrent sugar Egypt bouza barley Pakistan kuppi, tharra keekar tree bark and sugar plums, apricots of Hungry hazipalinka Philippines lambanog coconut tree sap charries sguardente de Portugal medronho tree fruit India feni cashew fruits, coconuts medronhos Russia samogon potatoes or sugar Iran aragh raisins South Africa witblits grapes potcheen, Ireland grain or sugar piotin Sudan araqi dates Kenya chang’aa corn or sorghum Uganda waregi bananas, sugar cane moonshine, white Laos lao-lao rice United States corn or sugar lightning Mongolia arkhi horse’s milk What is Moonshine? Moonshine Law and Effects • Throughout its colorful history, Tennessee moonshine- making gave birth to many legends and folkloric stories. • Many mountain folksongs were written about the trade and the conflicts between moonshiners and revenuers. • Women as well as men were featured in the legends. Mollie Miller, of Polk County, Tenn., reputedly killed several federal agents and their informants. • Moonshine blockade runners developed an amazing prowess in high-speed driving on twisting mountain roads. • Many of them used their skills on the Nascar stock car racing circuit. Who was Popcorn Sutton? Excise Tax • Moonshine whiskey was traditionally distilled secretly and out of sight of law enforcement officers, or federal agents known as revenuers. • In 1791, the Washington administration imposed the first federal whiskey excise tax on American distillers, which led to the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion. • The tax was lifted in 1817 and reimposed in 1862. • Moonshiners were offered a pardon by the federal government in 1878. • By 1879, the Tennessee vs. Davis Supreme Court decision gave the feds jurisdiction in prosecuting moonshiners. Prohibition • In spite of federal laws outlawing untaxed liquor making, moonshining became a lucrative industry for poor Tennessee Appalachian corn farmers and mountain distillers. • Corruption and apathy among local law enforcement officials allowed the clandestine stills to flourish until the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment establishing federal prohibition of alcohol in 1919. • Prohibition was first enforced in 1920 and lasted until its repeal in 1933. • Tennessee moonshine-making is an extremely profitable venture. Legal Moonshine • A new Tennessee state law in 2009 made the production of moonshine legal in 44 Tennessee counties. Previously, only three counties allowed the distillation of whiskey • Joe Baker started the first licensed moonshine distillery, the Ole Smoky Distillery, opened in Gatlinburg, Tenn., in 2010. • East Tennessee is known as the Moonshine Capital of the World. What is the impact? • It’s a visitors experience • A story that is told • Heritage • Entertainment • Merchandise Thank You ©2017 Alltech, Inc. All rights reserved..