You can’t talk about the South without talking about its spirits—literally. Kentucky bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and Carolina moonshine are more than drinks. They’re liquid history, poured into glasses, mason jars, and sometimes the gas tanks of souped-up cars. Each sip carries the story of farmers, rebels, outlaws, and storytellers who turned corn into comfort—and sometimes pure mischief.
Kentucky Bourbon: America’s Native Spirit
Kentucky’s rolling hills are more than pretty—they’re fertile ground for bourbon. Since Congress declared it America’s native spirit in 1964, bourbon has been a point of Southern pride. The secret? Those long summers and sharp winters, pulling whiskey in and out of charred oak barrels, turning clear liquor into amber gold with notes of caramel, vanilla, and smoke.
Travel the Bourbon Trail and you’ll find yourself in the heart of tradition—Maker’s Mark with its red wax seal, Woodford Reserve in horse country, and Jim Beam, where generations of distillers have kept the fire burning. Bourbon is patience bottled, a heritage passed down sip by sip.
Tennessee Whiskey: Smooth as a Sunday Song
Head a little south and you’ll find Tennessee whiskey. It isn’t just bourbon’s cousin—it’s got its own signature twist: the Lincoln County Process, where whiskey filters through charcoal made from sugar maple before it hits the barrel. That step gives Tennessee whiskey its trademark smoothness, making it sip as easy as a Sunday hymn.
Jack Daniel’s may be the headliner, but George Dickel and smaller distilleries across the state carry that same pride in every bottle. Tennessee whiskey hums with tradition—rich, mellow, and unapologetically Southern.
Carolina Moonshine: The Rebel Spirit
If bourbon is the gentleman of Southern spirits and whiskey the soulful balladeer, moonshine is the outlaw cousin who shows up uninvited but makes the party unforgettable. Born in Appalachian hollers and Carolina backwoods, shine was corn liquor cooked in hidden stills and smuggled in mason jars.
It was cheap, strong, and—most importantly—illegal. Folks didn’t just drink it; they depended on it to survive hard times. Moonshiners built secret stills deep in the woods, and runners loaded their cars with jars, tearing down winding backroads with engines tuned to outrun the law.
NASCAR, Outlaws & the Dixie Mafia
Those backroad runs weren’t just about survival—they lit the fuse for a whole new sport. The daredevil drivers who raced moonshine cars for a living started testing their skills on dirt tracks. From those outlaw races, NASCAR was born. To this day, the roar of engines on a Sunday afternoon echoes the rebel roots of moonshine country.
And where there’s rebellion, there are outlaws. The South has its own brand of organized crime, nicknamed the Dixie Mafia. Less polished than the crime families up North, these good ol’ boys ran everything from gambling to drugs to bootlegging. They weren’t just shadowy figures in the background—they were woven into the fabric of small towns across the Deep South. But that’s a story big enough for its own chapter later on.
More Than a Drink
Bourbon, whiskey, and moonshine aren’t just about what’s in the glass. They’re culture, survival, rebellion, and Southern pride bottled up. Bourbon whispers patience. Whiskey hums tradition. Moonshine tells tales of grit and outlaw fire. Together, they’re the South in liquid form.
Travel the Spirit Trails
Want to taste the South’s history yourself? Start in Kentucky and walk the Bourbon Trail. Roll into Tennessee and sip smooth whiskey in Lynchburg. Then head into the Smoky Mountains, where legal moonshine distilleries now pour mason jars of outlaw history for curious travelers.
Because down here, the South doesn’t just tell its stories—it pours them straight, no chaser.
XOXO, Jani
Journeys With Jani 