By Hope S. Philbrick
Secrets this tasty are hard to keep.
While exploring the new Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour in December, I stopped at Limestone Branch Distillery in Lebanon, Ky.
Owner Steve Beam gave me a tour and tasting, then he leaned across the bar and said that he wanted to share something with me if I could keep a secret.
It’s sort of unfair to ask a person to keep a secret after she’s consumed several shots of flavorful sugar shine—how could I possibly say no?—so of course I agreed.
That’s when he brought out samples of three expressions of a new MoonPie Moonshine he was working on with Lisa Wicker, former winemaker for WhiteMoon Winery.
I sipped test batch samples of vanilla, banana and chocolate MoonPie Moonshine, which were poured straight from mason jars into little plastic cups. And darn if the spirits didn’t taste exactly like the famed Chattanoogan bakery treats they were designed to represent.
(If you don’t know what a MoonPie is, you must not be Southern. Poor you. Read about them here.)
Beam said that the idea for the new moonshine was not something he just dreamed up, it was brought to him by the MoonPie producers. The Campbell family was looking for a way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their MoonPie. It’s a perfect fit, really, since the Campbells are 5th generation bakers and the Beam brothers of Limestone Branch Distillery are 7th generation whiskey makers.
The merger of these two classic Southern families’ treats will be available in late January. “Just in time for Mardi Gras,” said Beam.
Additional MoonPie Moonshine flavors will be released this summer: strawberry, orange and lemon.
More Information…
MoonPie Moonshine retails for approx. $22 per 750ml and is available at Limestone Branch Distillery as well as liquor stores in Kentucky, southern Indiana, Louisiana and Alabama.
-Images courtesy Limestone Branch Distillery
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Hope S. Philbrick is founder and editor-in-chief of Getaways for Grownups. She became a freelance writer and editor because she believes that work and fun should not be mutually exclusive. Her work has appeared in dozens of publications nationwide. When not writing, she can usually be found on the road or savoring something tasty.
