We didn’t have to look far for spare barn wood for Stillhouse #1. Billy remembered there was a damaged barn just around the corner on Pea Ridge.

The owner, Robert Bogle, was home and said we could help ourselves to whatever we needed. He had been following our progress in the newspaper and was happy to hear we got our federal permit. He said the state should be easier.

Robert knew a thing or two about moonshine and the revenuers and took us inside his home where his wife Louise directed him to a small stack of scrap books she had kept throughout his time as Cannon County Sheriff. She reminded us they were lucky the books survived a fire that took their home a couple of years ago.

Scattered throughout the pages were stories from the local newspaper of moonshine and whiskey busts across the county in the late 70s and early 80s. It was clear by the headlines many locals had moved on to growing marijuana and did a lousy job hiding it from Sheriff Robert Bogle. The few old-timers, who weren’t the least bit tempted by the new cash crop, quietly stuck to a 100+ year old folk tradition of whiskey making on Short Mountain.

STILL CAPTURED (1982) – Sheriff Robert Bogle displays a 50 gallon moonshine still that was captured by state Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents and deputies from his department late Friday, Sept 4 in the Pea Ridge section of the county on a farm known as the Keith place. Confiscated in the raid was the still, four barrels of mash and a 1967 Ford pickup truck.

John Whittemore shares how organic and permaculture farm practices used by Short Mountain Distillery honor our agricultural heritage. You can hear the guys from the CO-OP putting together our grain bin in the back ground.

Short Mountain Distillery planted 7 acres of organic corn you see featured in this video. The test went very well, and John is busy planning 20 rotational acres of organic corn on Billy’s 300 acre farm for next year.

Sheriff Robert Goodwin (left) of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department makes a moonshine bust September 30, 1950 in Murfreesboro, TN

We know our history, and we know you are a part of it. Short Mountain Distillery is looking for family stories and moonshine recipes to share with the world in a book to be published in conjunction with our grand opening.

One thing we learned from talking with our neighbors over the past year is that nearly everyone we know has an amazing story about a relative or friend who made moonshine. The secrets families once kept for generations by Tennesseans are treasured stories of a hidden craft that defines the ingenious American spirit in the face of trying times.

Maybe your grandmother made a special cough medicine or your uncle had the perfect mixed drink recipe. Maybe your family had a special plan that kept the revenuers at bay. No matter how long or short, we’re looking for everything from stories of survival and close calls to cherished memories of times gone by.

Josh had a great idea. Why not show our pride in American manufacturing by placing a small American flag on everything in the stillhouse that was made right here?

Then it dawned on me. There would be flags all over this building, and that problem put a huge smile on our faces.

As Stillhouse #1 gets closer and closer to completion, we’re placing orders for the equipment we need. Earlier this week, a factory floor in Greensboro, NC received an order to start building a new forklift for us. The same thing happened in Michigan where a factory began constructing the high quality steel shelving we need.

In the next week or two, the Tennessee Farmer’s Co-op will bring our corn silo that was manufactured in Indiana, and family-owned Kentucky company Vendome Copper & Brass will soon begin fabricating our next cooker and still.

When you hear news of manufacturing orders rising, that’s the story of America getting back to work. It’s orders from companies like ours who reach out to our neighbors that help keep American jobs at home, and it starts right here.

We can’t always find what we need at home, but we’re proud when we do. From white oak barrels to the steel tanks used in our manufacturing processes, our orders are a part of America’s recovery.

We’re still figuring out the best way to show off that pride, but if you happen to see small American flags in the stillhouse, ask us about it. It’s a story we like to share.

Photo: Short Mountain Distillery President and CEO Billy Kaufman tours Knoxville Beverage wine & spirits distribution center with his brothers David, Darian and Ben.

Check out this nice article by Jennifer Folsom in the latest Watertown Gazette on our effort to resurrect an age-old Tennessee tradition of moonshine and whiskey making on Short Mountain. Awesome photos by Jessica Atnip. Here is an excerpt.

“While we were collecting signatures for the referendum, the people we talked with were very supportive,” says Kaufman, noting that once people in his community realize what his goals are, they are ready to support him and the distillery.

“People want their way of life honored. We did some digging and discovered that in Cannon County before prohibition there were 18 legal distilleries. The people of this area were flourishing at that time and grew orchards, corn and sorghum to support the industry. It was a time when farming made sense.”

Kaufman, great-grandson of Jesse Shwayder, founder of Samsonite Luggage, doesn’t just ask for support from his community – he first gives it. The distillery was founded with his great-grandfather’s tradition of letting the Golden Rule guide him, on hand and in heart.

“I knew I needed to create an industry which would include agriculture, this area’s rural heritage and would encourage people getting together and working together,” says Kaufman of the distillery’s principle of mutual respect. Kaufman wants to “turn the clock back 100 years” and return to a farming model which creates value-added products and not only supports itself but the community as well. He plans to source agricultural products from within 30 miles of the distillery and bring jobs and needed revenue to his community.

This spring Little Short Mountain Farm and a team of neighbors and volunteers planted seven acres of corn. They used five teams of mules from the Middle Tennessee Mule Skinners Association. (See shortmountaindistillery.com for a video of the planting.)

“Everyone who has been employed here since the start has lived within 15 miles,” says Grantham. “We are trusting our neighbors and involving our community, and so they want to be a part this. We want every part of this distillery to reflect this community.”

Tennessee Crossroads takes you to an annual tradition that honors our agricultural heritage.

Ever since the 1840s, Columbia, TN has played host to an annual gathering of mule breeders. Once called “Breeder’s Day,” the annual Mule Day Parade is now attended by over 200,000 people from around the world.

This year’s Mule Day is March 31 – April 3 in Columbia. There’s square dancing, crafts, a mule-driving contest as well as “working mule”, “best of breed”, and even lumberjack competitions. You might even see a few of the guys who will soon plow and disc our first organic corn crops.

Watch the video above from Tennessee Crossroads and learn about the role mules once played in shipping goods throughout our communities.

If you plan on attending this year, be sure to pick you up a copy of Dixie Longears. Short Mountain Distillery is a proud sponsor (see our center spread) of this inaugural magazine for mule enthusiasts across the country.

As you might have guessed, we like mules.

America has always made whiskey and moonshine. One of the first taxes levied against American businesses to help pay for a nation at war and in debt was the Whiskey Tax.

We love our freedom, and we’ll fight tooth and nail to defend it. We also love to drink more than any other nation in the world, a fact our founding fathers did not ignore as they looked for ways to put our nation on solid footing.

In a recent interview with the Cumberland Business Journal, Short Mountain Distillery CEO Billy Kaufman said it’s time we start “drinking American.”

“Americans should be drinking moonshine, not vodka,” says Kaufman.

Kaufman said if distilled correctly (resulting in 80 to 100 proof), moonshine is fairly neutral tasting, meaning it can be mixed in a variety of combinations. That, he said, is the same premise of vodka, which is the top selling liquor in America.

“People aren’t drinking vodka because it tastes good,” he said.

Kaufman firmly believes that having a toast or celebrating an occasion with spirits is the American way and part of the American culture. To that end, he thinks Americans should be “drinking American.”

Architect Marcus Dipietro and Short Mountain Distillery CEO Billy Kaufman on a conference call with David Pickerell

It would take you a few hours to walk the nearly five mile perimeter of Billy Kaufman’s 300 acre farm on Short Mountain near Woodbury in Cannon County. By the time you’re sitting on the porches of Short Mountain Distillery with friends and family, we will probably have walked that a few times over.

This weekend, Marcus Dipietro came out to walk some of the farm with Billy and me to begin looking for the perfect spot to build the distillery. As we walked the land, our conversation turned to our team’s foundational values and how the distillery design can best express those values for generations to come.

The Golden Rule, community, heritage, stewardship, craftsmanship, and our connection to the land. These are some of the core values and archetypes of the dream unfolding here, and we aim to make it a testament to a way of life that makes America strong.

Fermentation expert and Cannon County resident Sandor Katz has been working on the farm for some time introducing the use of organic composts and compost teas to our agricultural processes. It’s one of the many sustainable agricultural values future visitors will experience at Short Mountain Distillery.

Sandor was recently featured in the November 22 edition of The New Yorker magazine for his work advancing a live-culture food revolution. As the article notes, Sandor’s two books – “Wild Fermentation” and “The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved” are must reads for a new generation of underground food activists.

We are very fortunate to have Sandor working with us as we begin integrating centuries old distilling practices with the 300 acre farm.

IT’S ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY: Last week, Sandor whipped up a big brew of compost tea that Billy and John sprayed on the newly plowed organic corn field. The practice will be repeated regularly and replace an unsustainable and costly practice of applying chemical fertilizer to the farm environment.

The processes Sandor is putting in place now will eventually transform some of Short Mountain Distillery’s grain product into an environmentally safe fertilizer. The process is amazing to watch and demonstrates a genuine bottom-up level of care for the life of the farm and quality of spirits we will produce.

Besides whiskey and moonshine, the process of distillation creates a usable grain product that is perfect for farm life. The grain mash from the distillery can be consumed by farm animals as well as crops. The distillery will produce tons of grain product annually.

HOW IT’S DONE: To get the grain into a consumable product for crops, the grain will first be fed to livestock whose manure will be composted with other organic material.

Next, the manure and other organic materials and allowed to compost. This process requires turning the pile so the composting kills pathogens but not overheat and kill the microbes.

Once the compost process is complete, a portion then goes into a large “tea bag” and is left to aerate in a large cistern of water while the rest is used as a soil amendment. The resulting frothy tea, teaming with cultivated microbes, are sprayed onto the field where they continue digesting organic matter into usable nutrition for crops.

Billy Kaufman holds dirt John Whittemore plowed for the distillery.

This isn’t exactly what corporate America would call an official ground breaking, but in its own special way that’s exactly what it is.

Local farmer John Whittemore started early Friday morning plowing the rich farm land where Short Mountain Distillery’s first organic corn crops will be planted this coming Spring.

The spot is roughly 4 acres on the future home of the distillery, nestled in the rolling hills of Short Mountain in Cannon County. The distillery will need well over 100 tons of corn a year to make our fine Tennessee whiskey and moonshine, and we intend to get every bit of it from Cannon County and surrounding Tennessee farms.

We know we won’t get all of our corn organic at first. Over time, we want to help farmers we work with adopt more sustainable practices and help preserve our agricultural heritage for generations to come.

We also know the yield might not be as good as the corn Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel have shipped in from other states, but we also know what we’re producing is something we’re all producing together.

That’s what makes this unofficial ground breaking so special when you think about it, because this is where it all begins. This is the start of something real and something wholeheartedly Tennessee.