Under the light of the moon, before and during Prohibition, moonshiners would gather in private locations throughout the rural south to brew homemade spirits which they would later sell secretly to avoid alcohol taxes and bans. Dating back to the 1700s, and even more during Prohibition, production skyrocketed.
Today, things are done a little differently. Sugarlands Distilling Co. based out of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, uses award-winning spirits, along with a barn house location, to complete a new, different and modern distilling experience.
The proud, locally owned brand has been around since March 2014, but the history of moonshine dates much further back. And both have deep ties to NASCAR.
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Back in the old days, moonshiners needed runners – drivers that could smuggle the moonshine to ready customers. The cars looked normal enough to avoid any type of unwanted attention but were set up with heavy-duty shocks and springs, keeping the moonshine safe on the backwoods roads. High-powered engines gave cars extra speed to outrun cops or tax agents along their routes.
After Prohibition ended, drivers found themselves with these unique, fast cars — but no work.
That is until Dec. 14, 1947, when Bill France held a meeting with drivers, owners and mechanics to put in place rules for a unified racing series – and then there was NASCAR.
“You’ve got all these guys that are running moonshine in the backwoods and around the countryside in these souped-up cars and they started getting together to race those cars. That was the start of NASCAR,” said Sugarlands Distilling Co. head distiller Greg Eidam.
So, moonshine and NASCAR go way back. But the whiskey is still just as relevant today as Sugarlands Distilling Co. has partnered with NASCAR to become the Official Moonshine of NASCAR.
“NASCAR has such a loyal following of fans,” Eidam said. “We’re excited to introduce our moonshine to a group of people who appreciate the history of the sport – and enjoy celebrating it with good spirits.”
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Last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, fans were able to enjoy hand-crafted cocktails made with Sugarlands Shine. Sugarlands, in partnership with Talladega Superspeedway, also introduced a limited-edition Corn Whiskey created specifically to celebrate 50 years of speed and shine.
The traditional, unaged corn whiskey is similar to that of the spirits previously bootlegged throughout Appalachia, which mirrors Sugarlands’ goal to never stray from its roots.
“We strive to keep the history in each bottle,” Eidam explained. “It (the recipe) came out really good and it was fairly simple. … We’ve got a strain of yeast that we really like here. It has produced some really great characteristics for our whiskey, we’ve experimented with different strains of yeast in the past and this one has done really well for us. We are extremely proud of the Talladega 50th Anniversary Corn Whiskey, it is a smooth shine that we know fans will enjoy.”
Spread across the country, the 50th Anniversary Corn Whiskey can be found in retail liquor stores or at Sugarlands’ Gatlinburg, Tennessee distillery. To learn more about this authentic whiskey, and to find a store with Sugarlands Shine near you, visit www.sugarlands.com/NASCAR.
As an official partner of Talladega Superspeedway, Sugarlands also is the entitlement sponsor of the fall race for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. On Saturday, Oct. 12, the Gander Trucks Series will compete in the Sugarlands Shine 250.
“We’ve got very exciting plans in the works for the fall race and we can’t wait to share a sip or two with fans of speed and shine,” Eidam said.
