Drinking and (Re)making place: Commercial moonshine as place-making in East Tennessee

Moonshine has undergone a resurgence in recent years with the passage of the 2009 liquor laws in Tennessee, allowing for 41 counties to open and operate commercial moonshine distilleries. The rise of legal moonshine is connected to broader economic changes and has already had a significant impact on the cultural landscape and the selling and remaking of place, in both East Tennessee and Appalachia. Specifically, this paper asks: How is place being represented, sold and (re)made through the proliferation of moonshine in East Tennessee? I address this question through concepts of authenticity and place-making as understood in the food/drink and tourism literatures. Using broadly conceived qualitative methodologies the results are illustrated through a case study of three specific moonshine distilleries the region: Tennessee Hills Distillery (Jonesborough, TN), Sugarlands Distilling Company and Doc Collier Moonshine (Gatlinburg, TN). This research directly contributes to literatures in Appalachian studies, authenticity and place-making geographies.