I moved to East Tennessee in 1966. During the first year I was there, the local news would feature some remote moonshine still that the Revenuers had busted up in the mountains of Tennessee, North Georgia and Alabama. I eventually got to know some locals and a couple brought me some "black pot" moonshine. I don't know what that meant, but was assured that it was the good stuff and would not make you go blind.
I have never been much of a drinker, but I did sample some of the local products. I can honestly say, I didn't care for it. To me, it tasted like real strong Saki. One of my co-workers brought me a gallon of "shine" from Alabama. He delivered it in a plastic one gallon milk jug. I brought it back to Texas on vacation and gave it to my Dad. He took it to a local lab and it was analyzed to be 90 proof.
After 14 years in Tennessee, we moved back to Texas. I had not thought much about home grown whiskey until I got a call from an old Tennessee friend some years back. We will call him Wes.
Wes and several of his brothers had grown up on Mowbray Mountain just North of Chattanooga. They exposed me to a culture you don't see very often in Texas. All were hard working men, that got jobs in the city but never left their mountain roots. Wes was driving through Texas on his way to visit his military son in California and said he would like to see me. I was thrilled and offered to put him and his wife up for a few days.
They spent two nights and I showed them the "Southeast Texas" Sites and culture. Had a most enjoyable visit reliving the 60's and 70's in Tennessee.
When it came time for them to leave and say our good-byes, Wes said, "I got something for you". He pulled out an old Jim Beam bottle that was full of Moonshine. To demonstrate the quality of the gift, Wes took a sip, made an awful face, stomped the floor and replied, "Smooooth!" I never found out for sure. I asked Wes how in the world he got that stuff since Moon shining was almost a lost art.
Wes said that it was pretty hard to find. When he started planning his trip, he visited a couple of old mountain men. One said that he only made it for special occasions and to come back in a month and there would be such an occasion. The other one he approached told him, "Wes, I don't make that stuff anymore. You know, that you can make a lot more money growing dope".
PROGRESS in the Mountains.
I kept the bottle for several years at our beach house and offered any visitor a sip. No one ever took me up on it. That stuff was so strong that it survived Hurricane Ike.
