Ole Smoky Distillery, home of the most visited distillery in the world and #1 moonshine brand in the U.S., is bringing National Moonshine Week (June 1^st – 7^th) to life with a 360 degree marketing campaign and continued partnership with Friends of the Smokies, the non-profit organization assisting Great Smoky Mountains National Park in its mission to preserve and protect America’s most visited national park. Ole Smoky will also be hosting celebrations in its hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee as well as in five markets around the U.S.

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Ole Smoky Celebrates National Moonshine Week (Photo: Business Wire)

“National Moonshine Week is the perfect occasion for Ole Smoky to celebrate the legacy of moonshine and share the spirit with the world,” said Joe Baker, Founder of Ole Smoky. “We were proud to have brought the holiday to life the last two years and are excited to share the spirit’s rich American history with everyone again in 2024 and for years to come.”

Moonshine is one of the most storied spirits in the United States. Production of the notoriously incendiary spirit dates to the late 1700s when Irish and Scottish immigrants settled in the Southern Appalachian area, bringing with them their home distilling practices and their recipes for what is typically a white whiskey derived from corn, yeast, sugar, and water. Although the practice was illegal, moonshiners continued to provide the spirit to hooch seekers in dry counties after Prohibition, and distillation and consumption became more of a pastime, especially in Southern Appalachia.

Fast forward to 2010 when Ole Smoky Co-Founder Joe Baker and his partners, using a fine-tuned, century-old family recipe, launched the brand shortly after Tennessee legalized distillation of spirits in East Tennessee in 2009. As the first legal moonshine in East Tennessee, the brand has grown exponentially over the past 14 years. The company now employs more than 700 people, makes a wide range of moonshines and whiskeys in four distillery locations across the state, and hosted more than 5 million visitors in 2023 alone.

In celebration of National Moonshine Week and moonshine’s birthplace of the Great Smoky Mountains, Ole Smoky Distillery is continuing their long-time support of Friends of the Smokies by donating a portion of the Moonshine Lemonade cocktail sales sold at participating bars and restaurants around the country from June 1 to June 7. The origin of this partnership inspired Ole Smoky’s 2021 release of their Limited Edition ‘Friends of the Smokies Blackberry Moonshine’, crafted to support the preservation and protection of the nation’s most biodiverse national park. Ole Smoky also provides staffing for volunteer days in the national park, as well as sponsoring their annual events and community activations.

“National Moonshine Week brings us many opportunities to not only honor the rich history of this storied spirit, but the community where it began,” says Robert Hall, CEO, Ole Smoky Distillery. “Our commitment to helping our neighbors in East Tennessee remains true through our growing partnership with Friends of the Smokies, and we at Ole Smoky look forward to giving back to our fans, customers, and community through this annual celebration.”

For those looking to celebrate at home, fans can visit https://nationalmoonshineweek.olesmoky.com/ to enter for a chance to win over 100 possible prizes. The grand prize is a VIP Trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a Smoky Mountain weekend experience, featuring roundtrip airfare for four, 3-night accommodations, a private VIP Moonshine Experience at The Holler, and more. The website also features Ole Smoky’s signature moonshine lemonade cocktail recipes for fans to enjoy in their homes, like Lightnin’ Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, Blackberry Lemonade, and Hunch Punch Lemonade. For more delicious recipes and ways to celebrate, click here.

About Ole Smoky® Distillery LLC

Ole Smoky is the leading distiller of premium moonshine in the world, the leading craft distiller in the U.S. and the first federally licensed distillery in the history of East Tennessee. Founded in 2010, Ole Smoky's roots are traced to the Smoky Mountains' earliest settlers, families who produced moonshine with enduring pride and Appalachian spirit. Ole Smoky has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 List of the fastest growing private companies in America for four consecutive years – 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, as well as receiving the 2023 Shanken Communications’ Impact Hot Brand Award, several 2024 Growth Brand Awards from Beverage Information Group, and the 2023 PR%F the Magazine Distillery of the Year award. Today, Ole Smoky’s over 25 creative moonshine flavors and 17 inventive whiskey flavors can be found in all 50 states, 20 countries and at the company's four famed distilleries in Tennessee: The Holler and The Barrelhouse in Gatlinburg, The Barn in Pigeon Forge, and 6th & Peabody in Nashville. For more information, please visit www.olesmoky.com and follow Ole Smoky on social media @olesmoky.

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