Tennessee Spirits: Ole Smoky Blackberry Moonshine

Originally published at Tiki Bar Online

I haven’t done a “TN Spirits” installment in a while, partially because I spent last year reviewing most of the current output from Tennessee distilleries, partially because money has been a little tight lately. I was at the liquor store a few days ago, though, and saw something from the fine folks up at Ole Smoky in Gatlinburg….something I hadn’t seen before: Blackberry Moonshine. So I sprang for some and decided to do an evaluation of this adult beverage, whether or not it ends up pairing well with a cigar.

Ole Smoky is based in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, not too far from the 3rd largest city in the state, Knoxville. Their main staple is “plain old” moonshine, a corn-based liquor that is at least similar to the stuff that’s been pouring out of the area’s backwoods for a century or more, but they’ve done well with “Moonshine Cherries” (a jar of maraschino cherries soaked in 100 proof shine) and “Apple Pie Moonshine” as well (I went through a bottle of that last year). Their website shows Blackberry Moonshine as “Available in Select Test Markets” so I guess I should be happy that Chattanooga was selected. This is what else the site had to say:

One of the joys of country livin’ is pickin’ wild blackberries. This fresh sun-ripened sweetness can now be found in Ole Smoky’s® Blackberry Moonshine™, a mason jar full of delicious flavor from our own family recipe. It’s perfect for sipping at a backyard barbeque – or better yet, on the front porch, where you can share with the neighbors. 40 Proof · It’s ripe for the pickin’!

Hold the jar up to the light and this looks like nothing more than grape juice, if I’m being honest. When’s the last time you heard of getting grape juice in a Mason jar, though? I thought so. I had chilled the bottle in the fridge for quite some time before I wrote this review. Strangely, when I held the open jar to my nose, the first thing I thought of was communion wine…it had quite the “grape-y” aroma to it and I only got a more “berry” aroma at the very end of a sniff. Taking a sip from the jar (because that’s the way you’re supposed to drink moonshine) and immediately I did get more of a blackberry flavor than the grape the aroma suggested. It was sweet, but not cloyingly so, and it had a little tartness on the finish. The finish is also where I started to pick up the flavor of the base corn liquor. Interesting, though maybe not the best accompaniment for a cigar.

I decided to try out something different. In warmer, more humid climates, mixing rum (or even whiskey) with some sort of clear fizzy soft drink (Sprite will work) over ice is a good way to beat the heat. So I decided to take a similar tactic here: half Ole Smoky Blackberry Moonshine, half Sprite, over ice. Result: a pretty great cocktail if I do say so myself. Just enough corn flavor to remind you of your roots, a nice refreshing lemon-lime fizz, and the essence of blackberries, all cold enough to keep your warm on a hot Southern day. Or if you drink enough of them, you just won’t care about the warmth one way or the other. And this combination seemed like it would work well with a milder cigar, perhaps one with a Dominican flavor profile, so I opted for a Nadi Cigars Clasico, made in the DR with Dominican fillers and binder along with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Verdict: great combo! The cocktail played up some of the more citrusy notes of the cigar and both were light enough to not stomp all over the other.

Hmm…just noticed that the company’s website shows “Blueberry” as a seasonal flavor available only at their Gatlinburg Distillery and Store…looks like I’m going to need to plan a visit up there when blueberry season rolls around.