Short Mountain Distillery

Welcome to Whiskey Lore's Whiskey Flights, your weekly home for discovering great craft distillery experiences around the globe. Brought to you this week by my friends at Burnt Church Distillery of Bluffton South Carolina, a distillery loaded with authentic Low Country South Carolina Spirits.

I’m Drew Hannush, best-selling author of Experiencing Kentucky Bourbon and Experiencing Irish Whiskey and today I’ll be your travel guide as we cruise down I-40 after leaving Knoxville, taking any of the mountain terrain I can see from the highway as we make our way to the Short Mountain Distillery. 

Now, if you haven’t been to Tennessee before, and you have some extra time or if there is a backup on I-40, you might be tempted to take a few backroads to get to your destination. Normally I encourage that, since it allows you to get a real world sense of small town and rural America, But unfortunately the backroads to the south of I-40 do a lot of bending and twisting through the mountains, so for this trip, I’ll be sticking to the time saving, if less scenic interstate.

So, why, out of all of the distilleries in Tennessee, did I pick Short Mountain as one of the three to introduce you to? Well, my goal is to try to give you variety when I choose distilleries to visit and in Tennessee, I can’t think of another distillery experience that gets you out in nature, gives you a place to play, hike, gawk at the scenery, eat, learn some moonshining history, and take in a very informative distillery tour that features some great spirits to taste. I can’t wait to introduce you to Billy Kaufman, the distillery owner. In just a few minutes together, I think you’ll get a real feel for why I brought you here.

And as we get near our exit, let’s take a moment to learn a little bit more about the area where Short Mountain Distillery is located.

Cannon County, TN

If you’re looking for the laid back country feel of Tennessee, Cannon County fits the bill. The beautiful mountains and rolling hills that surround you are part of the Highland Rim, an area of elevated terrain that surrounds Tennessee’s more populous central basin. Short Mountain Distillery and the county seat of Woodbury, stand as focal points for visits to the area. Woodbury is a charming town that captures the essence of rural, small-town Tennessee with its friendly locals and community focused events. For visitors the area’s local art scene comes alive at the Cannon County Arts Center and a very popular activity in the south is antiquing. If this is your thing, make sure to stop by the Old Feed Store Antique Mall. If the great outdoors is more your thing, you’ll find plenty of opportunities for hiking and fishing in the area.  The combination of natural attractions, local culture, and the area’s serene charm make Cannon County a wonderful place to spend a day.

Now, the first time I came here, it took me about 75 minutes to drive from the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville. It’s also about Nashville the same distance, I’m reminded of that line from the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou, when George Clooney’s character comments on how the store he was in was a geographical oddity, 2 days from everywhere. A little over an hour is much nicer. 

As for Knoxville, it's a wee bit longer on the road, just over 2 hours, depending on traffic. But if you take into account that you gain an hour when crossing into Central time, it's actually only a 75 minute drive from Knoxville - so the geographical oddity is still in play.

Now, as I take exit 273 toward Smithville, let me give you some background on Billy and Short Mountain. First, you might be surprised to hear that Billy was one of the early pioneers of this craft distilling revolution in Tennessee. When Billy heard that distilling was opening up to 44 counties in Tennessee, thanks to the 2009 vote in the State General Assembly, he decided to put together a petition in Cannon County, hoping to get a referendum vote that would allow him to build a distillery in what was then a dry county. He also helped put together the Tennessee Distillers Guild, which gave distillers a voice in the State Legislature and brought organization to Tennessee’s distilling landscape - and Billy served as its first president. 

What is truly remarkable is how Billy, who was a California native, from Beverly Hills no less, was able to win over the locals to his ideas. It’s no secret that a lot of dry counties were still that way because the locals held entrenched ideas about the evils of alcohol.  But Billy also had to tackle the issue of being an outsider in a region that can be a bit clannish when it comes to what they perceive as carpetbagging. 

As I sat down with Billy to talk about the distillery and the experiences there, I first was very curious to know how he overcame these odds.

The Interview

Drew Hannush (00:29.339)
Well, let's get started by talking a little bit about how somebody who...

grew up in Beverly Hills and worked in the film industry and commercial industry out in Los Angeles, found his way to Tennessee.

Billy Kaufman (01:06.856)
well, those, those first things you said are true. I was an art director, until about the age of 29. And then, I was also, I did, I was born in Beverly Hills, California. and, if you can see behind me, I don't know if this is a video or just a podcast, but that's a Jesse.

Schwader, he's my great grandfather and he started Samsonite corporation, the luggage company, and he had a furniture factory in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. And my grandfather actually worked there. we actually have a tour coming up to the building and I think it's too many people that are to come into this room, hopefully, but,

Drew Hannush (01:39.867)
Mm -hmm.

Drew Hannush (01:45.083)
wow.

Billy Kaufman (02:05.096)
Definitely someone's gonna come into this room soon and start grabbing bottles. But anyway, Jesse Schwader started a factory in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which is just 45 minutes away from where I am right now. And I'm actually the first person in my family, although many people in my family have worked in Tennessee in this area, I'm the first person to have moved here. So I was new of this area as sort of ancestral.

place where, you know, my family had worked. There were streets named after Samsonite and a lot of the people in my current rural neighborhood actually worked for Samsonite, some of the older people. So when I moved here, it was a dry county. And when the laws changed, thanks to Mike Williams and others that are in the Tennessee Distillers Guild now, I was able to have a...

successful campaign to change the dry laws in Cannon County. Even though I was technically a foreigner, a lot of the older people in the county had worked for my great grandfather and grandfather. And so I was sort of known at in that respect. And they, I believe, you know, helped push us over the edge. It wasn't a huge win to change the

the laws here, but we did win maybe 57, 58 % of the vote voted for the distillery. And that was, you know, every vote counts in a county of 15 ,000 people total. I only had 800 registered voters sign my petition, but that was enough to put it on the ballot. We were able to change the law. And in many respects, you know, thanks to Jesse Schwader there.

We actually named the distillery after him. We're known as Short Mountain Distillery, but our real name is the Golden Rule Distilling Company. That's our legal name and we do business as Short Mountain Distillery. And Jesse was, always would build the business based on the Golden Rule. And our first bottles always had the Golden Rule coin on them.

Drew Hannush (04:06.747)
Mm -hmm.

Billy Kaufman (04:28.264)
So if you ever see a short mountain bottle with a coin on it, pop it out and flip it over and it'll say, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And if you, you can look on my screen, there's that, I don't even know how to zoom in, but I guess you can't. The three stars of Tennessee on the box behind me and surrounding it is the golden rule. We put, we stick it everywhere on t -shirts and everywhere.

Drew Hannush (04:44.603)
Hehehe.

Drew Hannush (04:54.875)
Very nice little insider information. Yeah. Another piece, another piece of insider information that you gave away is this idea that, when you move into a small community like that in Tennessee, I grew up in North Carolina and the mountains for you to have an in, you have to somehow let people know that you have some ties to the area. Cause that always helps.

Billy Kaufman (05:21.416)
Yeah, it helps. I mean, Tennessee is going through lots of changes and but I moved here before that it was that was happening before people were really flocking here. And it was like moving for me to like another country. The culture was so different. And I loved it. I always loved being surrounded by nature. I moved here.

you know, for that to be in a rural community and have a farm and have a rural lifestyle, which is, you know, we're one of the few rural distilleries not close to any large city. And I sort of see it as part of Tennessee's history to continue having rural distilleries.

Drew Hannush (06:17.275)
Yeah, so you started off actually before you got the referendum passed and all of that you were actually making some moonshine ahead of time so I've heard.

Billy Kaufman (06:27.144)
Well, you know, that's a hazy period of time to discuss, but I was doing some farming with some older gentlemen who made moonshine on the side. There's no money in small agriculture. And basically,

doing an agricultural product or project, the best thing to do is make a little moonshine on the side. And it's a great way to mask the moonshining by, you know, maybe feeding your mashed pigs or at least having a big piece of land that you can surround your operation with. And so that's an old, that,

That's an old tradition here in Cannon County to be a farmer slash moonshiner, where you are publicly a farmer, but you make all your money moonshining. And, and so I knew a few of these guys, they always would encourage me to make moonshine on my property, which I technically never did. I was, I guess a bootlegger of sorts. I would take moonshine and.

repackage it and sell it. And I would sell it for, I guess sell it or give it to like charity events, you know, because by back then it was a novelty that no one had ever heard of before. And, or seen they have heard of it, but had never seen it before. So they used to package it in these plastic milk jugs. And I would always take it out.

and put it in nice glass mason jars, you know, so it would look like what people expected it to look like. And sometimes these jars would auction off for a hundred dollars, crazy numbers. And this was before the big moonshine craze. And I would like give them to charities and stuff to auction off. And people were...

Billy Kaufman (08:48.392)
It just like put the idea in my mind that here's something that's really not that expensive to produce, but people will spend almost any amount of money to possess it.

Drew Hannush (08:59.867)
So how did you find the 400 acre farm that you're on?

Billy Kaufman (09:04.2)
So this farm, I live a mile away from it, so I don't live on this farm. My brother lives on this farm, but I had always seen it. It truly is, to me and many, many other people, the most beautiful farm in Cannon County. It's between Short Mountain and Little Short Mountain. There's lots of rolling hills, and we have three springs on the property. It's just rich, vibrant land. And...

very lush and I had always been mesmerized by it. And then the owner basically just got too old to manage it and put it on the market. And it languished on the market for a long time because the people that wanted to buy it were loggers because the property had never been logged, which is very unusual for this area. And so it had...

Drew Hannush (09:58.971)
Mm.

Billy Kaufman (10:03.176)
It still does, has huge trees on it. And I promised the past owner, Jimmy Bashir, that I wouldn't log it. And he saw that as a positive and he actually sold it to me for a little less than a lot of the people that were bidding on it were trying to get it for. So I guess sort of my conservation, tree hugging,

California mentality made it all possible.

Drew Hannush (10:37.787)
It really suits a distillery from the standpoint that it has plenty of natural springs around. I mean, is that what you kind of saw when you saw the property or got that in your head or were you looking for a place to start doing distilling or had you found the property first?

Billy Kaufman (10:57.66)
No, no actually, it was before the laws had changed and I just saw it as a beautiful farm and I was interested enough in agriculture that I knew it was a great farm and the water, the rich land and the proximity to where I currently live. So there were just so many factors and I...

I bought the property and as soon as I, I didn't get much attention for buying it, but as soon as I started the referendum and saying that I was going to do a distillery, all the ancestors of the past owner, Cooper Melton started contacting me thinking I had deliberately purchased the farm in order to build a distillery there because it was the ancestral home of Cooper Melton who was Al Capone's moonshiner.

and famous for, he owned a distillery, J .R. Motley and Sons, that as soon as he inherited it, Prohibition came. So he just took all the equipment and brought it to this property and started a very unsuccessful moonshine operation. And then 10 years after that, the rest of the country went into Prohibition.

and he started the most successful ever moonshine operation. So he, and if you ever watched the Mike Rowe documentary, How Boo's Built America, they talk about him. So we have some people coming in. Do you wanna just keep going or how do you? Okay.

Drew Hannush (12:27.259)
Wow.

Drew Hannush (12:40.059)
Just, yeah, we can keep going. I mean, if they get noisy, then we can do a retake. Like I say, nobody will really be seeing this, so we should be good on that. Okay. Yeah, yeah.

Billy Kaufman (12:45.64)
It's ugly. Yeah.

Billy Kaufman (12:52.2)
Okay, one second then. Can we take a break? One second.

Hello, are you with the tour? We missed the tour. I was wondering if you sell. You can buy up at the restaurant. At the restaurant. Yeah, I would help you, but I'm doing a radio interview on the computer. But you can buy everything in here up at the restaurant. And they'll give you a tasting as well. Or you can wait for him to be finished. How long is the tour? It's almost over, I would think. It's about an hour, but it's already over.

So it started at one. What time is it? Yeah. So it's almost over. But you can go up to the restaurant and buy everything and taste everything. Just right at the bar and you can eat up there as well. Well, you can go back and buy everything or you can wait for DJ and he'll sell you whatever you want. And you're welcome just to go out and wait for him. He'll be done soon. My pleasure.

Drew Hannush (14:02.395)
Very good. All right.

Billy Kaufman (14:04.424)
You need where the customers always. Right around here.

Drew Hannush (14:07.419)
It comes first unless you're in France.

Billy Kaufman (14:12.04)
Yeah.

I didn't stop the interview to sell him anything.

Drew Hannush (14:17.339)
No, no, that's fine. That's fine. And like I say, it's so much more casual the way I do this now. So no problem at all. So in those early days, when you had gotten the distillery set up, you mentioned about the fact that you're somewhat isolated and I drove up there and that beautiful drive up the mountain to get to you.

Billy Kaufman (14:23.72)
Mm -hmm.

Billy Kaufman (14:38.824)
Yeah. Mm -hmm.

Drew Hannush (14:41.467)
In those early days, what did you do? Because there was no distillery trail. So there were people had to really know you existed. How did you get people there?

Billy Kaufman (14:50.248)
You know, yeah, there was no roadmap to what we did. There were three distilleries in Tennessee. When I decided to start a distillery, it was really just unknown territory. So I didn't even know we could do tastings and sell bottles here. I just, I just did not know what running a distillery was really all about. I had no idea.

how the three tiered system would operate. I just thought it was a good idea and that we could do a great Tennessee product that had history here. And I knew agriculture was not really gonna put us on the map or anything. And I knew that it is still really here, wood. And then all this history started bubbling up. And now I'm...

probably like you are in the repository of history for this area. So everyone comes to me and tells me their moonshine stories, their liquor stories, and I get to sort of, you know, pick and choose and include what parts I want in our tour. But maybe one day I'll write a book or something, I don't know.

Drew Hannush (15:49.595)
Hehehe.

Drew Hannush (16:10.683)
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I mean, as those stories keep coming in. Okay, there you go. There you go. yeah, the moonshine stories are always really interesting. And yes, you sometimes have to take them with a grain of salt. I, I, I laugh because I had a trip out to a bootleggers and I was talking to Darrell over there and he was saying, you know, the moonshiners, people would bring him samples and say, can you,

Billy Kaufman (16:13.128)
You can write my book.

Billy Kaufman (16:21.256)
Yeah.

yeah.

Billy Kaufman (16:36.2)
yeah, I get that.

Drew Hannush (16:37.435)
run this through your hydrometer and then come to find out it's like 60 proof. It's not really that strong, even though it tastes like it is. Yeah. That's the.

Billy Kaufman (16:41.448)
Yeah.

Billy Kaufman (16:45.032)
Yeah. I get all sorts of people. You know, I once spoke at Sawani and the school nearby for an entrepreneur program. And they, they wanted me to spend time with the students and encourage them on their career paths. And one of them, he brought this backpack in and he shut the door behind him and we were alone.

I could hear all these bottles dinging around in his backpack. And he started putting these jars out on the table and wanted me to give my expert opinion about the moonshine he was making at school.

Drew Hannush (17:15.195)
Ha!

Drew Hannush (17:25.531)
man. They start them young. man. So, then it appears that you, you actually got involved in helping to get started, the distillers guild. So was that, was that kind of an, an effort to say, Hey, look, we need to, acknowledge all the distilleries around the state was the trail kind of in the back of your mind at that time.

Billy Kaufman (17:29.032)
Yeah, yeah, I guess.

Billy Kaufman (17:43.144)
Yeah.

Billy Kaufman (17:54.376)
Really, I knew I wanted a trail because I was sort of jealous of Kentucky, but what spurred it on was the aggravation of working with distributors and realizing just how little power distilleries had been given after 100 years of Jack Daniel's monopoly in the state.

Drew Hannush (18:21.435)
Mm.

Billy Kaufman (18:21.544)
So Jack Daniels has great representation in government, but distilleries have had none. And the distributors were just treating me like I was being a shakedown with the mob. I sort of felt like really, I felt the injustice. I actually went to the state house.

for weeks and tried to make a difference. Eventually, starting the Distillers Guild was really me just trying to start at square one of making a change. And then when the guild had helped make change, then we were able to start the Tennessee Whiskey Trail.

Drew Hannush (19:06.203)
Yeah.

Billy Kaufman (19:21.384)
which was sort of funny too, because it had already existed before the Guild. The Tennessee Whiskey Trail was a website that two fans had started. And we ended up having to buy that from them.

Drew Hannush (19:37.339)
Drew Hannush (19:40.859)
nice.

Billy Kaufman (19:42.888)
And they wanted to be part of the guild and everything, but I was down with that. I didn't care. But so many members of the guild were like, no, we don't want these guys permanent membership in the guild. So they turned them from whiskey fans into like disgruntled, you know, whiskey, former whiskey fans. Maybe they're want, they're, they're wine lovers now. Who knows? They give them a hard time.

Drew Hannush (20:09.115)
I feel, I feel for them a little bit because I actually had fallen in love with the history of a, in the early days of the web. So this is 1999 and I had fallen in love with the history of the local Meyer league baseball team that went all the way back into the 1800s. And I was like, I want to write their story. So I was going through and I built this whole big website for them and they didn't.

Billy Kaufman (20:21.96)
Yeah.

Drew Hannush (20:39.227)
Meyer league baseball, well, Meyer league baseball didn't really even have websites at that time. And so I was cutting edge for what they were. So I went to them and I said, if you want to buy this from me, I'd be happy to sell it to you. And it's not going to cost you much. This is more a passion thing for me. And, it wasn't long after that. They, they said no. And then probably a year later, Meyer league baseball came out with.

Billy Kaufman (20:39.528)
I didn't like it.

Billy Kaufman (20:44.296)
Right. Right.

Billy Kaufman (20:54.728)
Yeah.

Drew Hannush (21:04.923)
Basically photo stat websites for everybody. Everybody has the same looking website except for different masthead.

Billy Kaufman (21:08.104)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and you had all this character and great information and they just threw it away. Yeah. Right.

Drew Hannush (21:16.379)
Yeah, so it became, it felt good for me. I felt like I knew a bit of history that nobody else really knew about that scene.

Billy Kaufman (21:22.184)
Well, we gave these guys a good bit of cash. They walked away with something that was well worth their concept. But we felt from the very beginning that the Tennessee Whiskey Trail should be owned by the people who are actually making it happen.

Drew Hannush (21:37.371)
Making it. Yeah. So when you started, did you just start with moonshine and then later decide to get into doing whiskey?

Billy Kaufman (21:49.)
No, I mean, the idea was whiskey, but we had to start with moonshine. And this will tell you how long ago this was. This was before sourcing was chic. So I didn't want to do it at all. And so to me, if I was going to make whiskey, it was at least a four, five, six year wait. So we started with moonshine and...

Drew Hannush (22:02.459)
Yeah.

Billy Kaufman (22:18.568)
Yeah, back then I absolutely did not source. I still don't really. I've dabbled in it with private labeling and stuff, but

Drew Hannush (22:29.723)
What if?

Billy Kaufman (22:29.832)
And I'm always shocked when it happens, but I bite my tongue.

Drew Hannush (22:35.195)
Well, one of the things that you can do when you're making your own whiskey instead of sourcing from someone else is you can put some ingredients in that you may not see in other whiskies and.

Billy Kaufman (22:46.664)
yeah. Well, everything we make is like that.

Drew Hannush (22:50.075)
And I noticed in your mash bill you use oats, which are pretty rare, I would say. Yeah, so what was the idea behind putting oats in your whiskey?

Billy Kaufman (22:54.408)
Yeah, yeah we do.

Billy Kaufman (23:01.608)
I'll tell you that the truth of it is our original master distiller was, there were no distillers available to hire back then, especially out in rural Tennessee. So you sort of had to like make your own distiller or become a distiller. And so I got this guy who was a good home brewer and he was familiar with all the beer malts.

And we basically started there and I got him trained and, you know, he went to the Siebel Institute and I just, every book I could find about distilling, I would buy him. And, you know, we would, we just learned from the beginning. David Pickerel was a consultant. He came here from Whistlepig. And so we, that's our lineage. So we,

Drew Hannush (23:58.971)
Yeah.

Billy Kaufman (24:00.168)
And part of this guy's contract was that the next guy in line, he would have to train him. He couldn't just up and leave. So that's what happened. That's how I do it. And then the last time, I did lose another distiller before his time who got poached. I won't say where or who. And I called his boss, thanks to the Tennessee Distillers Guild. And I said, you can't just take my distiller.

I'm in a bad mouth view or so. I didn't say that, but, and he said, well, he can work there until you have someone trained. And I said, thank you very much. And that's how we proceed now. So the guild has made us all better people.

Drew Hannush (24:31.035)
Hahaha.

Drew Hannush (24:40.459)
the

This is the trial of a small business owner. And this is why I love doing these interviews with craft distillers, because you guys deal with things that the big guys really never have to deal with. It is tough to hang on to employees. And you can see in the market these days that distillers are swapping from one distillery to the next or starting their own distilleries right and left. So it's a common thing.

Billy Kaufman (24:58.472)
yeah, yeah, it's really close.

Billy Kaufman (25:10.76)
Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, right now my head distiller lives at my house, basically. So I have a house next to my main house, and he lives there. And yeah, I try and keep him as happy as possible.

Drew Hannush (25:20.827)
Ha ha ha!

Drew Hannush (25:31.035)
So we talk about, cause kind of getting back to the oats, whose idea that was and then, and why, and then this idea of doing organics as well. Were these all from the start?

Billy Kaufman (25:42.696)
huh.

Billy Kaufman (25:47.304)
Yeah. So I mean, I guess that goes with my California roots, but using organic products, farming, or organically and sustainably, it's part of my philosophy, I suppose, or just my consciousness. And, so I wanted to, make a product that was certified organic. Mind you, I do not make certified organic products anymore.

I still make products with organic ingredients exactly the way I made them certified, but I stopped certifying my products organically maybe a year or two ago, just because I was finding here in Tennessee, which is the only state I distribute in, that sometimes it's a mark against you to be certified organic. And so, you know, that's just politics.

Drew Hannush (26:39.739)
Mm.

Billy Kaufman (26:44.488)
So I was spending all this money and time getting my products certified. And some people didn't even want to try them because they were certified organic. I didn't know that was a thing, but it is a thing. And so I stopped doing it, and the products sell just as well. And people who care, I say, you know, these are made with organic ingredients. And we could certify them if we wanted to.

Drew Hannush (26:55.675)
Yeah.

Drew Hannush (27:10.363)
Yeah, it is interesting to try to get a feel for what will inspire people and what will push people away.

Billy Kaufman (27:21.256)
Yeah, it's trying to stay away from politics and personal choices and opinions. And I just try to make good products that taste good and celebrate history. I think that's something that we all share.

Drew Hannush (27:28.763)
Yeah.

Drew Hannush (27:36.763)
Yeah. So when did the restaurant come about? Because this is the first thing you really know. I mean, what's great is because you're out, you know, a little bit of distance away from, you know, the restaurant works out great because you can do a tour and then you can finish up and, have something to eat and you guys make great food there. So how did that come about?

Billy Kaufman (27:55.88)
Yeah.

All right, well, we talked about Mike Williams a little earlier. Mike Williams once told me a great way to make a small fortune in the distilling business is start with a large fortune and then you get into the distilling business. So I would like to add to that that starting a restaurant is an even better way of making a small fortune from a large one.

Drew Hannush (28:14.843)
Hahaha

Billy Kaufman (28:28.488)
And so and a restaurant is 10 times more aggravating because a distillery, people want to work at a distillery and they see that as a career opportunity. But a restaurant is very, very difficult. You may have one or two people out of 15 people that actually want to work there. And then the rest of the people are there because they need some money. And.

Drew Hannush (28:54.267)
Hmm.

Billy Kaufman (28:56.52)
And so you get this interesting staffing and HR sort of endless churning nightmare. And it's very, very difficult. So the restaurant, I originally started it with an outside owner manager and he quickly lost so much money.

that I took over the management of it and started sort of managing it, managing managers and sort of doing it that way. And after about seven years doing that, I can't even remember. I got very tired of it. And I was like, you know, I just want to put my energy into the distillery and the marketing. I want to find someone who wants to be an owner manager again.

And so I put the call out and I have someone doing that now. So the current manifestation of the restaurant is an owner manager, but we are partnered with the front of house distillery aspects. So he's able to set, sell bottles and he is branded on short mountain in the front.

because he works for me, but all the food and everything is all his own problem. But it's great because it's not my problem. And he does catering and he has to really hustle to have a business with the catering and the weddings and all the other stuff in order to have a real business here. You have to be an owner to care that much.

Drew Hannush (30:24.091)
Mm -hmm.

Drew Hannush (30:33.563)
Right.

Billy Kaufman (30:52.072)
There are some, the restaurant is a lot of work to have a restaurant out here, especially in the rural area. And sometimes it's very, very busy and sometimes it's crickets. It's just how it is out here. So it's holidays and certain, you know, if the weather is good, the place is packed. And then if it's, you know, like there could be a little rain in the morning.

Drew Hannush (30:58.907)
Mm -hmm.

Billy Kaufman (31:21.256)
you know, you hardly will see anybody. So it's just a very, very difficult business. But he's able to make a go of it now because of the way we have it set up. But just talking about the restaurant gives me stress.

Drew Hannush (31:34.523)
Very nice.

Drew Hannush (31:39.195)
maybe that's why I never got in the restaurant business. I was always, I was like, I'll work in the grocery store. I'll do any number of things when I was growing up, but I never really wanted to work in a restaurant.

Billy Kaufman (31:45.096)
you are.

Billy Kaufman (31:51.272)
Yeah. No, everyone is an expert. If you think everyone's an expert of alcohol, everyone is really an expert of food. And they all have opinions.

Drew Hannush (31:59.059)
And in these days of Google reviews, you hear about it. Yeah. Very nice. There you are. So in terms of your tours and how you run those tours, what do you think is the secret sauce to having a really good distillery tour?

Billy Kaufman (32:05.672)
God, even before the check clears, you know, you got your review right there.

Billy Kaufman (32:27.592)
I think listening as much as talking, some people, I try and cater every tour to my crowd. So I sit down and start with the conversation and ask people where they're from and what they're interested in and try and interact with them as much as possible. I ended up giving a little bit of a tour today because the current tour guide was late and.

We just talked about all the stuff she wanted to talk about. She was in politics. So I talked about all sorts of, you know, legislation stuff. And she told me it was the best distillery tour she ever had. Cause I talked about stuff she was interested in. And if I noticed people are glazing over when I'm talking about process or something like that, I stopped talking about it. And there's plenty of, you know, I can talk for days about this stuff and

So there's many, many tours I give and I just sort of cater them towards the people I'm talking to. There's kids in the audience, boy, I'm usually talking to them because if the kid can have a good time and understand what I'm talking about, then everyone else there will too. So I definitely just cater to the audience.

Drew Hannush (33:47.739)
You still have the animals wandering around?

Billy Kaufman (33:50.728)
There's always animals wandering around, whether they're mine or not. But yeah, it's a 400 acre farm. We had an emu show up on the property once and the guy who owned it said, Billy, that emu, I don't know how to catch it. It's your emu now. And I said, really? Okay, thanks. And then that emu took off and went on a rampage and someone called the guy who originally owned the emu and they said,

Drew Hannush (33:52.663)
Yeah.

Drew Hannush (34:00.635)
Wow.

Billy Kaufman (34:21.)
That emu's running ramp, you know, running down the road and keeping us out of our house. He goes, that's Billy Kaufman's emu.

Drew Hannush (34:27.675)
You get the reputation in the community.

Billy Kaufman (34:30.248)
What? Yeah, you wouldn't want to know the half of it.

Drew Hannush (34:38.875)
So when you do your tastings, how do you go about those? Are you giving people a range of different flavors?

Billy Kaufman (34:48.104)
We need to give them everything, everything they want to try and we give them everything we make, whatever's on the shelf. There's a tasting going on right now. So this whole interview has been going on with the tasting happening right outside. And there's probably like 10 people out there getting a tasting. And hopefully when it's over, they'll know exactly what they want and they can buy a bottle.

Drew Hannush (35:13.595)
Very nice. They're very quiet, which tells me that they're enjoying their drinks.

Billy Kaufman (35:18.152)
Yeah, I can hear him. I can hear him and see him if I look.

Drew Hannush (35:23.323)
Very nice. What you've done there that I think is interesting is this idea maybe of creating it's, it's family friendly, which wouldn't be the first thing you might think of when you think of doing the story, but you're out in the country. So you, and you've got this 400 acres and you got, you got a walking trail, you got a disc golf course out there. and so there's stuff to do. And then you have a restaurant on top of that, that you're not having to run yourself, which.

Billy Kaufman (35:37.864)
Yeah.

the end.

Drew Hannush (35:53.339)
is helpful for you. It was that kind of the idea was make this a bit of a destination stop. Somebody will spend more than just an hour or two here.

Billy Kaufman (35:53.896)
Right. Right.

Billy Kaufman (36:02.472)
I would like to make this a real destination. So my end goal is to put cabins on the property. I'm looking for partners for sort of like putting in a resort here. So we already get RVs coming through like organizations like Harvest Host. Most weekends we have RVs parked in our parking lot. But I would like to...

you know, in my lifetime, see this place be a resort where there's cabins and you can spend the night, maybe have a smaller restaurant that's a little nicer for people to eat at and still do all this stuff for the public, but put all that in the front of the farm and then the deeper parts of the farm, which are stunningly beautiful, you know, just gorgeous views and...

You know you can you can put in some really nice vistas for folks and I'd love to share all that we're in a great location for something like that. We're near a lake. We're near all sorts of other places, you know to visit we're in the middle of like a National Park sort of Center where there's all sorts of

beautiful natural things to look at. And there's just not a lot of places to stay out here. I think in Cannon County, we have like one hotel, a motel.

Drew Hannush (37:36.795)
Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it gives you that feeling of, old school Tennessee. Cause, yeah, yeah. I mean, I remember my parents talking about, you know, living in North Carolina and driving down us 25, the entire way from Detroit down to, Asheville, North Carolina. And the motor lodge was the place that you stayed. and even when I was a kid, we were staying at them. So they had just picked up the habit.

Billy Kaufman (37:44.68)
Yeah.

It is.

Drew Hannush (38:09.819)
of that. So yeah, it gives you that old school feel.

Billy Kaufman (38:10.568)
Yeah.

Yeah, I would love to make Cannon County more of a, have more tourist infrastructure. Because we have so many, our greatest asset is our space and our natural beauty, but we just don't, we're not a tourist town really. We just have a few small businesses that cater to tourists. And I think it's only natural that we evolve in this direction.

Drew Hannush (38:42.235)
Yeah. Well, Billy, I thank you so much for taking the time today and going through and talking through, and giving us more of a feel for what your distillery is like and what the experience overall is like. And, people need to come down and try some of your whiskies.

Billy Kaufman (38:59.432)
Yeah, and when you come to Short Mountain Distillery, don't expect much from us, but be pleasantly surprised when you come here because the whiskey is excellent and the food is mostly good. And you will experience a distillery that is like none other. So it's worth a visit. We're part of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail and it's a...

Drew Hannush (39:14.587)
Ha ha ha ha.

Billy Kaufman (39:29.448)
We're always happy you come.

Drew Hannush (39:32.187)
Perfect. Cheers.

Billy Kaufman (39:33.672)
Cheers.

Burnt Church Distillery

As you're putting together those summer beach or golfing plans, if Hilton Head or Savannah are in your plans, then, no matter the day of the week, Burnt Church Distillery in Bluffton is ready to share with you some Lowcountry history, spirits and hospitality.  

Of course, the first thing I like to recommend before visiting a distillery is taking a tour - and Burnt Church will immerse you in the history of the region and walk you through the process. But they also take their time on the tasting, introducing you to their wide variety of award winning spirits - and giving you the option of what you would like to taste. 

And while booking your tour at burntchurchdistillery.com you might notice, they also offer a mixology class, where one of the distillery’s mixologists will walk you through creating two Burnt Church cocktails and an Amethyst NA Spirit cocktail. Weekends mean drinks, friends, and live music at the distillery. And if you are just in the mood to relax, stop by their full-service tasting room and enjoy a meal with your flight. 

Whether you’re a whisky connoisseur or just looking for a unique way to spend an afternoon, make sure to plan a visit to Burnt Church Distillery to grab a taste of the Lowcountry. Book your experience today at burntchurchdistillery.com. 

Closing Details

I hope you enjoyed this virtual flight, or drive in this particular case, to Short Mountain Distillery. If I piqued your interest in experiencing Short Mountain, and you’re wanting to keep track of this and other great distilleries you hear about on the show, make sure to head to whiskey-lore.com/flights, find the distillery you want to add to your itinerary, then log-in and add it to your handy Whiskey Lore distillery wish list. Then, when you’re ready to plan your trip, you’ll also find maps, links, and distillery planning details for this and all of the other whisky distilleries in Tennessee. That’s whiskey-lore.com/flights

Now, stay tuned because I’ll have some closing travel tips if you plan on visiting Short Mountain, but first, it’s time for This Week in Whiskey Lore.

This Week in Whiskey Lore

This past week, iconic Canadian whisky brand Crown Royal announced the release of its first branded Single Malt Canadian Whisky. Crafted from 100% malted barley it is distilled in traditional copper at the historic Valleyfield Distillery, formerly known as the Schenley Distillery, in Quebec. Diageo describes the whisky as, 'cut from the cold,' due to its aging in the cooler Canadian climate. It is available at 45% ABV, priced at $54.99, and should have wide availability.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crown-royal-expands-horizons-with-new-single-malt-canadian-whisky-expression-302162618.html

Another event happens later this week that has been celebrated for at least a decade or more. It’s National Bourbon Day, and while its focus is clear, its origins are not. Jump on AI and it will tell you the date is related to the first time Elijah Craig produced the spirit, although it goes on to reveal that just like the origins of National Bourbon Day, the date of Craig’s first distillation is unknown, although 1789 is often given for the year that the good reverend first burnt the inside of his barrels, leading to the spirit today we call Bourbon. 

However, all of that is fable. Yes it is true that Elijah Craig distilled, but there is no evidence he ever sold his spirits, so naming them something specific other than whisky wasn’t really necessary. And he lived in Scott County, which never was part of Bourbon County. In reality, there were distillers making whisky in Bourbon County years before Elijah Craig, including the Spears and Shahawns - and it would be another 13 years after his death before the first mention of Bourbon whisky would appear in the Bourbon County newspaper the Western Citizen. A pot still distilled spirit that likely held little resemblance to the Bourbons produced by Heaven Hill, the producers of the modern column still distilled Elijah Craig brand. 

But just because it's impossible to pin down the date the first bourbon was made, doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate its creation on the arbitrarily derived June 14th date.  Instead, we can raise a glass to all the makers along the way whose cumulative work has helped shape the spirit that, like Tequila for Mexico, and Scotch for Scotland, stands as a symbol of a uniquely American spirit.

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/what-day-is-it-17682 

Closing and Three Things

As we prepare to leave Short Mountain Distillery and head to our next Tennessee distillery destination, let me give you my three reasons why I have this distillery on my Whiskey Lore Wish List. 

• First and foremost, it's the family-friendly nature of this distillery. From disc-golf, to walking trails, to the natural creeks and springs, its a wonderful place to relax and take a countrified Tennessee experience.
• Next comes the fun and informative tour, given both inside and outside the distillery. There is plenty of history, if that is your thing. And sitting on the porch, listening to your guide while the distillery cats make their presence known, was a unique way to kick off a tour.
• And of course, this is a great place to relax and take your time. If you’re used to filling up a day with activities, Short Mountain gives you a good reason to slow down and soak it all in. And if you get hungry, just walk to the restaurant and enjoy a meal and tasting. 

I hope you enjoyed today’s episode. Where is our next destination? Well, if you guessed someplace 75 minutes away, you’re pretty darn close. We’ll be going south of Nashville to a distillery that, those in the know, recommend to their friends visiting Tennessee. It’s Leiper’s Fork. And I can’t wait to share the experience with you. Make sure to subscribe to the Whiskey Lore podcast, so don’t miss any of the great Whiskey Flights to come. There is a world of great craft distilleries to explore. Until we meet again, cheers and Slainte mhath. 

For transcripts and travel information including maps, distillery planning information and more, head to whiskey-lore.com/flights