BRANSON’S NEW DISTILLERS
MISSOURI MOONSHINE COMES OUT OF THE HILLS WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY CARRIE DOW
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n popular culture, moonshine is sometimes characterized as a low-grade, cheaply made illegal substance hidden deep in the Appalachian Mountains. However, the line of illicit stills that ran from Virginia through Kentucky also stretched into the Ozark Mountains of Branson, Missouri. Now a new generation of legal distillers is bringing moonshine out of the hills and into the city, changing opinions by making small batch, high quality products using a mix of traditional and modern techniques. Greg Pope of Missouri Ridge Distillers might be one of the most
famous of the bunch after appearing last March in the premier episode of Discovery Channel’s Moonshiners: Whiskey Business where Virginia moonshiner Tim Smith helps struggling distilleries improve their product and bottom line. A third generation distiller, Pope’s grandfather made moonshine in Utah’s Rocky Mountains during Prohibition. “I’m just the first generation to do it above board,” Pope laughs. While distilleries are new to Branson, distilling goes back decades in the surrounding Ozark Mountains. The Ozarks Studies Institute
Copper Run Distillery was built on family property just north of Branson in the rolling hills and horse ranches of Walnut Shadow.
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