Apple Season at Short Mountain Distillery

When the heat of summer gives way to a crisp, cool Tennessee autumn, Short Mountain Distillery celebrates with Apple Pie Tennessee Moonshine. This type of moonshine is available all year; however, the best time to enjoy it is when the air is crisp and sweaters are the fashion.

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Benefits of eating apples or adding them to delicious recipes and drinks are vast. Here are three of the top health benefits of apples.

1.   Weight Loss - These little red, and green and golden fruits are less in calories and fill you up. They are a sweet, satisfying snack and add a wonderful flavor to moonshine. Apple pie moonshine from the Short Mountain Distillery is a great after dinner drink, with or without a slice of pie.

2.   Heart Health - Apples are great for protecting your heart. They are a part of the "eat red" campaign and helps strengthen your heart from the inside out. This glossy fruit packs 14% of the daily value of immune-boosting vitamin C.

3.   Antioxidants - Apples are loaded with antioxidant compounds, which prevent the bad cholesterol (LDL) from inhibiting inflammation and from oxidizing.

  

Nashville, Tennessee moonshine, from the Short Mountain Distillery, comes in several flavors. Created using all natural ingredients like brown sugar, pure apple juice, cinnamon and the family recipe of moonshine, Apple Pie Moonshine exceeds every expectation for taste and apple content.

For a delicious apple inspired cocktail, begin with 1 ¼ ounce of Short Mountain Moonshine. Add a dash of vanilla and 4 ounces of apple cider vinegar. Use a cinnamon stick for a garnish, and for an extra special treat, cover the glass rim with brown sugar.     

For more information about Short Mountain Distillery, moonshine, bourbon and the Stillhouse restaurant, call Ben Kauffman at 615-216-0830, email Ben at ben@shortmountaindistillery.com or make arrangements for a tour of the Short Mountain Distillery located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane, Woodbury, Tennessee, 37190.

Health Benefits of Bourbon

What a surprising headline. Does whiskey, bourbon, and moonshine have real benefits? The short answer is "yes." Short Mountain Distillery, the makers of Tennessee moonshine and special bourbon, want you to know the health benefits of their hand crafted special blends.

Many believe drinking any alcohol is bad for a body, but there are actual advantages to moderate bourbon consumption.  Here are a few reasons for adding bourbon to your diet.

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Protecting the Heart - Bourbon helps prevent clots in the arteries, which reduces ones chance of a heart attack and stroke. The antioxidants help by restricting the oxidation of lipoproteins in the blood, the major cause of heart attacks.

Weight Issues - Nutritionally, this after dinner drink contains only 65 calories per serving and is a low energy drink. One or two ounces a day can help a person maintain their current weight.

Mental Health - Bourbon helps slow down Alzheimer's and dementia at the onset. Whiskey also makes brain activities more efficient, even at an advanced age. 

Other advantages of Bourbon, if it has farm fresh organic ingredients, and from a good distillery, such as the Short Mountain Distillery, range from mild to serious. Studies show you can use bourbon as a cancer preventative, as well as the cure for the common cold and flu.  

Local moonshine can help your health in many different ways. However, you will need to drink responsibly and with moderation to continue to feel great. Never drink and drive.   

Short Mountain Distillery offers distillery tours with tasting of several of their award-winning bourbon and other spirits. After a tour, enjoy farm-to-table meals at the Stillhouse restaurant.  

For more information about Short Mountain Distillery, moonshine, bourbon and the Stillhouse restaurant, call Ben Kauffman at 615-216-0830, email Ben at ben@shortmountaindistillery.com or make arrangements for a tour of the Short Mountain Distillery located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane, Woodbury, Tennessee, 37190.

Short Mountain Distillery for Special Occasions

A special occasion celebrated in an exceptional place creates the best memories. The Short Mountain Distillery is a beautiful location for any type of small gathering. You and your guests can sample bourbon, Nashville moonshine, and specialty alcohol while relaxing in the beautiful Short Mountain area.  

Today, the Short Mountain Distillery is continuing a family tradition of local moonshine. The Kaufman brothers, Billy, Darian, Ben, and David, create a Tennessee moonshine from their great-grandfather, Jesse Shwayder's recipe. The brothers have added a few new flavors over the past few years, but the basics remain the same.

Local Tennessee moonshine dates back to directly after the Civil War. It wasn't until 1909 when Prohibition became the law of the land and distilleries were shut down. One of the brothers, Billy Kaufman, came to farm in Cannon County in 2001. His farm was the first local farm to work with the USDA for an organic certification.  

After a tour and several free tastes, browse through the General Store where you can purchase local moonshine and other beverages to take home with you.

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During your trip to the Short Mountain Distillery, take one of the guided distillery tours. You and your family and friends will learn about the local agriculture and farm-to-table at the Stillhouse Restaurant.

Relax and enjoy a nice meal after you view the distillery. The menu at the Stillhouse consists of delicious lunch and brunch items on Sunday, and a lunch and dinner menu Wednesday through Saturday and dinner on Sunday. There is a larger events room available for special occasions.  Everything on the menu is fresh and tastes wonderful.

For more information about Short Mountain Distillery, moonshine, bourbon and the Stillhouse restaurant, call Ben Kauffman at 615-216-0830, email Ben at ben@shortmountaindistillery.com or make arrangements for a tour of the Short Mountain Distillery located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane, Woodbury, Tennessee, 37190.

History and Spirits, Tours of Short Mountain Distillery

Gather up your friends and family for a fun day at the Short Mountain Distillery. This family owned and operated distillery offers tours and tastings Thursday through Sunday at scheduled intervals. On the tours, you will learn about the long, rich history of Tennessee moonshine.

The Kaufman brothers, Billy, Darian, Ben, and David, opened Short Mountain Distillery in 2010. In 2009, the state legislators passed a law allowing distilleries to operate legally in Tennessee.

The farm in Short Mountain belonged to the brother's great-grandfather, Jesse Shwayder. He was best known as the founder of the American Samsonite products. Shwayder told folks repeatedly that in every success he achieved, he abided by the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The four brothers continue their great-grandfather's tradition of the Golden Rule as they continue to grow and protect the Short Mountain Farm and Distillery.

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Shwayder believed everyone should live by the Golden Rule. To remind people, he had marbles engraved with the rule and passed them out to everyone he met. Today, the brothers continue this tradition by distributing commemorative coins with the Golden Rule etched on one side.

After the Civil War, only 18 legal distilleries remained in Cannon County. They contributed to the local agriculture by generating jobs and much-needed funds to the community. The creation of local moonshine used surplus crops. This is the same practice used today, only Short Mountain Distillery farms for their moonshine and bourbon products.  

Prohibition of 1909 saw the end of the distilleries, although farming continued. A tale passed down about famous Moonshiners has Cooper Melton using one of the Short Mountain Farm's springs, located in a cave, to create Nashville moonshine to supply to Al Capone's speakeasies all through the North East.

Today, you and your friends can tour Short Mountain Distillery and learn more about its fascinating past and plans for the future of moonshine and bourbon carefully hand crafted on the Short Mountain.

Distillery tours run between 45 minutes and one hour and are $10 per person, which includes a Short Mountain shot glass. Visiting and tasting is always free. After a tour, you can have dinner at the Stillhouse Restaurant where all the food comes from the farm and local agriculture.

Lodging options are available for overnight or long weekends. Relax at the Lakeside Resort, a 26-unit of private cabins and conference facilities, or stay at The Cannon Inn of Woodbury.

For more information about Short Mountain Distillery, moonshine, bourbon and the Stillhouse Restaurant, call Ben Kauffman at 615-216-0830, email Ben at ben@shortmountaindistillery.com or make arrangements for a tour of the Short Mountain Distillery located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane, Woodbury, Tennessee, 37190.

Moonshine Recipes!

Many people are jumping on the moonshine bandwagon since it became legal to make in Tennessee. Short Mountain Distillery began creating moonshine for over 150 years. The Kaufman Brothers are using the same recipe from back then, and farm grown corn milled at the on-site mill.

The Tennessee moonshine from the Short Mountain Distillery is 105 proofs, authentic local moonshine. Some people may find straight moonshine to be too strong. Billy, David, Ben, and Darian Kaufman have created perfectly blended moonshine and many recipes to satisfy all discerning drinkers.  

One of the most popular liquors of Short Mountain Distillery is their signature Short Mountain Shine. The flavors of sweet corn and cool peppermint combine for a smooth finish. Short Mountain Shine is double distilled from heirloom corn, and mashed with cane sugar in this top shelf moonshine.

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For something a little sweeter, try Short Mountain Apple Pie. This preferred Nashville moonshine is a combination of grandma's apple pie and a kick of Tennessee Moonshine.

A local favorite from Cannon County, Tennessee is ShortMountain Prohibition Tea. Like the others, Prohibition Tea is both sweet and strong with peaches. Using the same corn mash, adding spring water and the recipe of the Kaufman's great-grandfather, this is one perfect tea.

When you visit Short Mountain Distillery, for a distillerytour, to taste or for dinner, here are a few drinks you may like to try.

White Mule - 1 ¼ oz. Short Mountain Moonshine, ¾ oz. coffee liqueur, and topped with 3 oz. half and half.

Tennessee Stud - 1 ¼ oz. Short Mountain Moonshine, 2 oz. cola, and 2 oz. lemonade. Garnish with a fresh lemon slice.

Shine-a-Rita (Moonshine Margarita) - 1 ¼ oz. Short Mountain Moonshine, 3 oz. simple syrup, ¾ oz. fresh lime juice, and ¾ oz. triple sec. Salt the glass rim and garnish with a fresh lime slice.  

For more information about Short Mountain Distillery, moonshine, bourbon and the Stillhouse Restaurant, call Ben Kauffman at 310-467-0620, email Ben at ben@shortmountaindistillery.com or make arrangements for a tour of the Short Mountain Distillery located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane, Woodbury, Tennessee, 37190.

Farm to Table from Still House Restaurant

While the moonshiners at Short Mountain Distillery have been keeping bourbon and moonshine local since the post Civil War era, people all over the world have been benefiting from Canon county’s produce and livestock for just as long, which is why we thought we’d start “keeping it local.”

Beginning June 6, 2015, Short Mountain Distillery will be opening Canon County’s first farm to table dining experience, Still HouseRestaurant.  One goal of farm to table dining is to limit the impact people have on the environment.  By using produce and livestock from plants and animals locally raised right here in Canon county, Still House Restaurant will eliminate both the monetary shipping costs, as well as the eco footprint most restaurants leave after moving food over long distances.

Additionally, farm to table food doesn’t have to be sprayed with preservatives or even frozen to maintain freshness.  The result is a number of additional, naturally occurring nutrients in every meal. 

Farm to table restaurants also support local farmers.  Asparagus, beans, beets, carrots, okra, onions, potatoes, squash, apples, apricots, apples, blackberries, figs, beef, lamb, ham, pork, and a number of dairy products are all produced right in the heart of Tennessee, and much of it will be featured on our menu. Come taste the richness all of Canon county farming has to offer!

Plus, unlike our secret 150-year-old moonshine recipe, it’s no secret fresh food tastes, well, better.

Join us Sat. June 6, 2015 at 5pm for the grand opening of Still House Restaurant! Take a tour of ShortMountain Distillery, taste the difference 150 years of moonshining can make from one of our old time shiners, then explore Little Short Mountain Farm. Get away from the hustle and bustle of Nashville and big city living, and get back to your roots on our beautiful 300 acre farm, before joining us for an elegant farm to table meal in our grand banquet room. Original moonshine cocktails will be available throughout the night as well as live original music from local grass roots artists. 

Moonshining: "How To" from Short Mountain Distillery

At Short Mountain Distillery, we learned how to make top quality Tennessee Moonshine from 150 years of tradition.  While we believe nothing beats a century and a half of expertise as far as moonshining is concerned, we thought we’d give you a couple of tips on how to shine.  No Short Mountain back hill secrets here, those are kept exclusively on the lips of our actual shiners, but to give you a basic idea of how moonshine is made, here’s a quick brewing lesson.

How to Shine:

Step 1: Grind. Grind corn into a meal.

Step 2: Soak.  Let the corn meal sit in hot water in the still.

Step 3: Mix.  First mix the corn meal with malt to make sugar then yeast to start fermentation.  This mix is called mash and is the beginning of a completed moonshine.

Step 4: Turn it up. Increase the heat in the still furnace to 172 degrees Fahrenheit.  If anyone ever told you there’s no such thing as a magic number, they were wrong.

Step 5: Evaporate.  As heat in the still increases, the alcohol from the mash evaporates through a pipe that leads out of the top of the still.

Step 6: Thump.  A thump keg filters out any solid material from the mash that also was forced out of the still through the production of alcohol steam. 

Step 7: Worm box.  Once the steam filters through the thump keg, it is cooled off and turned back into liquid in the worm box, usually cooled with running water from a creek.

Step 8: One last filter.

Step 9: Drink.

To put it short, making moonshine (and most alcohol) involves two processes.  The first is fermentation.  Fermentation occurs when yeast breaks down sugar.  The residual substance produced from this chemical reaction is alcohol.  After alcohol is formed, anything that is distilled, is further purified, by evaporating the alcohol to separate it from the yeast and the sugar, then condensing it back into liquid form for consumption.

If you’re in Nashville and are interested in visiting an authentic Tennessee distillery serving Tennessee bourbon and Tennesseemoonshine, Short Mountain offers distillery tours.  Visit our Website today!