Time To Shine: Distillery Tours Start Friday

KEVIN HALPERN, Courier Co-Editor


Short Mountain Distillery will open its doors for free tours and tastings starting this Friday and Saturday, March 23-24.

The distillery, Cannon County's first legal whiskey manufacturing operation, makes authentic Tennessee Moonshine with corn grown and stone-milled on a 300 acre working farm.

A grand opening is planned for April 21. The distillery will be open on Fridays and Saturdays until then, when it will operate normal business hours of Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

"This is a great milestone for this business, and I'm thrilled to be here in one piece and still have all my friends around me," Billy Kaufman, one of the owners of the distillery, said.

"We made it through lots of obstacles to get here," Kaufman added. "I look forward to making this business successful for all involved and our community. I feel like we've really created a Tennessee destination on this farm that will bring tourist dollars to Cannon Countyand hopefully benefit the community along the way."

Short Mountain Distillery is Tennessee's sixth distillery. It is owned and operated by the Kaufman brothers.

In 1910 their great grandfather, Jesse Shwayder, founded the iconic American brand Samsonite. Shwayder never missed an opportunity to attribute his company's success to the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Shwayder believed in this deep value so much that he started a tradition of handing out marbles engraved with the Golden Rule. The Kaufman brothers carry on this tradition to honor their great grandfather with a collectable coin inscribed with this philosophy on every bottle.

Visitors to the distillery can taste and purchase moonshine and can expect to learn about local history and the heritage of whiskey making. They will learn about the distillery's organic permaculture farm practices and also take the Cave Spring trail to see how they help preserve the area's natural resources for generations to come.

Short Mountain Shine, a 105 proof authentic Tennessee Moonshine, is made from a family recipe handed down for generations.

Customers will also be able to purchase Short Mountain Shine in stores across the state of Tennessee under new distribution deals signed with Best Brands (Nashville), Athens(Chattanooga), Star (Memphis) and Knoxville Beverage (Knoxville). Stores throughout the Nashville region (36 counties) will receive our product first.

Stop by for free tours and tastings starting March 23, or come out to our grand opening April 21.

Short Mountain Distillery is located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane in Woodbury, TN. For information call 615-216-0830.