Little known fact: prior to Prohibition, the state of Tennessee produced more whiskey than the state of Kentucky. Tennessee's whiskey heritage was the result of a heavy settlement of Scots, Scots-Irish, and Irish in the region. These were a people who knew how to convert grains and corn into alcohol. In 1810, there were 14,191 registered distilleries in the state producing 25.5 million gallons of whiskey. Unfortunately for whiskey-makers in the Volunteer state, the effect of the 18th Amendment left all but the two big boys, Jack and George, looking for other work or making mash beneath the pale moonlight and selling it from their boots, all the while looking out for the revenue man. By the time the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th, a whiskey-drinker's legal options were limited if he wanted to purchase distinctive Tennessee Whiskey, known for its use of "The Lincoln County Process," a method of charcoal mellowing prior to distillation so as to remove impurities, increase smoothness, and add the smokey flavor Tennessee Whiskey is known for. One had to go to The Big Two.
All of this isn't to say that Prohibition killed Tennessee's whiskey heritage or its reputation as a large producer of whiskey. Jack Daniel's is the largest seller of whiskey on the planet. No name is as recognized in the whiskey business...dare I say, in the spirits business...as Jack. George Dickel, while not as well known and more cheaply priced, is revered by whiskey critics, many of whom consider it the best true example of what a Tennessee whiskey should taste like. Country singers from George Jones to Dean Dillon paid homage to Tennessee Whiskey and Frank Sinatra made it cool for everyone to drink Jack.
But Prohibition, along with the state legislature, did destroy variety. Once the 21st Amendment made whiskey-selling legal again, the state of Tennessee limited distillation to three counties: Moore, Lincoln, and Coffee. And since Jack and George had claimed that area as their own, it was very difficult for new distilleries to gain a foothold in those counties.
After the new millennium, however, things began to change. Benjamin Prichard's distillery opened in Kelso, TN in 1997, producing rum. A darn good rum too. Its owner, Phil Prichard (he named the distillery after his fifth generation grandfather who had been a pre-Prohibition Tennessee Whiskey distiller) decided it made sense to make whiskey too. And so he did. And, come to find out, using old Benjamin's recipe, he makes a REALLY GOOD whiskey product.
Some folks in both the state legislature and the citizenry began asking themselves why our great state with its proud whiskey heritage had been forced to wait nearly 100 years to try a new distillery's take on Tennessee Whiskey. It didn't seem right. After all, as is the case with our barbecue, our good lookin' women, our music, and our college football pre-games, nobody does whiskey better than Tennessee. Furthermore, looking northward, folks saw the revenue generated from distillery tourists in Kentucky and realized what a boom that could become to Tennessee's already powerful tourism industry. With those thoughts in mind, discussions began about re-opening whiskey production to the other 92 counties in the state. In 2009, after mild opposition from a few teetotalers, the Tennessee General Assembly amended the statute that limited distillation to three counties and expanded it to forty-one others who wished to distill. In the past year, Hamilton County has been added to that list with subsequent legislation.
The whiskey re-emergence was immediate. Mike Williams created Collier & McKeel in Nashville and its first product hit the shelves in 2011. The Tennessee Spirits Company has been producing its Jailer's and Breakout Rye whiskeys in an Ohio warehouse while its Pulaski Distillery is being built (the distillery is expected to open by the end of 2013). Chattanooga Whiskey Company, which led the fight in Hamilton County, is also building its own distillery near downtown, which it hopes to have open and running by January of 2014. Chattanooga Whiskey currently outsources the production of its two products, 1816 Reserve and 1816 Cask (a 114.6 proof whiskey), until the distillery is up and running. Like Prichard's and Collier & McKeel, Chattanooga Whiskey is the revival of a pre-Prohibition recipe. Another pre-Prohibition recipe revival is now produced by Nelson's Greenbrier Distillery, located in Greenbrier, TN. Their product is called, "Belle Meade Bourbon," an ode to the famous Nashville plantation's thoroughbred racing roots, also using an ancestor's whiskey recipe.
The most unique new whiskey in Tennessee has to be Nashville's Corsair Artisan Distillery. It might be the most unique whiskey in America. Corsair's lead product, its "Triple Smoke," is made in the traditions of celtic malt style whiskeys, but with a smokiness that surpasses even the Tennessees. Corsair was founded by childhood friends, Darek Bell and Andrew Webber before Tennessee changed its whiskey laws. So instead of opening in Nashville, they produced their whiskey in Bowling Green, KY and waited until the General Assembly got around to fixing things. Once that happened, Bell and Webber opened a distillery in Nashville in the old Marathon Motorworks Car Factory. If you're in the area, it's worth a tour, both for the whiskey and to view the historic building. Plus, their taproom features a nice variety of Nashville's best craft beers.
Other new Tennessee Whiskey brands can be found at The Gatlinburg Barrelhouse (featuring Davy Crockett's Ole' Coonskin Whiskey), and future distilleries such as Beechtree (a Nashville distillery using spring water from Fernvale), TennSouth (Pulaski), and Full Throttle (Trimble). Numerous other distilleries have opened or are opening in Tennessee producing unaged whiskey. I refuse to call it moonshine since the revenue man got his cut.
For up to date information on the Tennessee Whiskey re-emergence and a map/description of all the distilleries on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, follow along here: http://www.tennesseewhiskeytrail.com/
