Short Mountain Distillery’s Ricky Estes and John Whittemore set up Ricky’s old moonshine still visitors will see on display at Stillhouse #1. It’s one of very few in Tennessee to survive decades of persistent moonshine busts.

This particular still was built by Emory Bragg and purchased by Mr. Estes back in the 60s or 70s. Some people might know Emory for a bank robbery that sent him to prison back in the day, and still fewer might have known him for his moonshine.

The still has gone through a couple small changes over the years, especially after it blew up and nearly took Ricky with it. For the most part the still made some of the best moonshine to come off Short Mountain. We can’t really say how recent that might have been, but you can rest assured this federally registered still now has a permanent and proud home at Short Mountain Distillery.

When Lewis McEacharn saw Billy Kaufman on the news this morning, he told his wife he wished he could meet these fellas trying to start that Short Mountain Distillery. You can imagine his surprise when we showed up at his place of work this morning.

McEacharn works at the George Dickel Distillery in Normandy, TN giving tours. We ended up getting a very nice private tour by Brandy (who reminded us she’s perfectly aware of the irony), but back in the gift shop, McEacharn thought he recognized Billy. He was right.

Like many folks we bump into, McEacharn is excited about the potential craft distillers have to share the rich history and vast recipes of legal moonshine. There’s a deep cultural connection people have with moonshine and other traditional American spirits.

McEacharn shared some old moonshine stories of his own, then took us aside to share some wisdom he gained distilling his own spirits as a younger man traveling the world.

McEarcharn took us to a display showing the basic distillation process and added something about flavor he learned through his own experience. You could see him tasting and smelling the mash by the look in his eyes and the movement of his hands as he described a critical process.

We’re definitely seeing a growing need to return the pleasure of meeting so many amazing people by providing a few private tours. Without giving away all of McEacharn’s advice, the bottom line is this. You can’t rush good flavor, and that’s good advice any way you look at it.