I’ll make a prediction right now.   North Carolina will become known as a state that welcomes and appreciates micro-distilleries.  Very quietly, over the past several years, small teams of risk takers have launched distilleries, primarily in the more western parts of North Carolina.  As a reporter, I’ve had the honor of visiting three of these distilleries.  Each focuses on making a different kind of spirit as its primary product.  Below is a collection of those stories as reported for UNC-TV – North Carolina’s Public Television network (which is really cool for promoting the unique story angles throughout North Carolina).

In no particular order, I present these North Carolina-based distillers.  First, is Southern Artisan Spirits.  This is a family owned business involving two brothers and their father – Alex, Charlie and Jim Mauney.  These guys prefer gin – gin & tonic, actually – and the Mauney brothers, I’m told, are quite excellent cooks.  They concentrated that talent into creating a Western-style gin called “Cardinal Gin.”  It’s quite floral in taste with the juniper berry influence quite prevalent yet not dominant in flavor.  It’s dialed in and could convert some vodka drinkers who want more flavor yet find the London Dry gins too harsh.

Troy & Son Distillery is owned by Troy and Charlie Ball, who left a real estate career to concentrate on creating what the Balls call a “superfine moonshine.”  Its moonshine is clear like water and, generally, smoother than most of the bootleg moonshine you can scrounge up if you know where to look.  Troy & Son also benefits from Troy’s relentless push and promotion to get moonshine into metropolitan areas and then have it accepted as a drink choice among well-monied and discriminating cocktail buyers.  From what I can see online, check for yourself, it appears Troy & Son moonshine is getting healthy exposure, including a segment on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” news program.  I profiled Troy and Charlie for UNC-TV’s North Carolina Now program and created a short video using Troy & Charlie’s own words that I’ve posted below.

Carolina Distillery is interesting in that it was born from very difficult economic circumstances.   One founder lost his career when the Lowe’s Home Improvement corporation relocated.  Another founder worked as a contractor and we all know what’s happened to housing in the past four or so years.  The third founder seems to be doing okay as a tattoo artist but had a very old family brandy recipe that needed introduction on a mass and legal scale.  So, Carriage House brandy came into being.  Interestingly, I expected an almost sweet liqueur.  Carriage House hits you like a bourbon with nice warmth and finish.  I’m told Carolina Distillery will be opening a public-friendly distillery and themed restaurant in downtown Lenoir, NC very soon.

I’ve never visited Piedmont Distillers but UNC-TV reporter David Huppert has met that team, which focuses on making traditional, North Carolina moonshine.  NASCAR legend Junior Johnson offered his old time recipe to the Piedmont team to launch a special product line and Piedmont’s products are found throughout America.  They are a true pioneer of North Carolina distilling.  Here’s David’s report.

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I’ve focused a series of stories in recent months on the tiny and growing NC-based distilling industry.  Without question, the distilleries I’ve visited are true small businesses.  Carolina Distillers in Lenoir, NC is no exception with its three partners and couple of other employees doing everything from fermenting to bottling.

Kenny Greene, Keith Nordan and Chris Hollifield bring different skills to Carolina Distillers and their effort appears to be paying off with business growth.  While their distillery isn’t open to the general public, per se, they were very gracious in having Alan Brown and myself on their premises to learn about the business for UNC-TV’s North Carolina Now.  The recipe for Carriage House Apply Brandy is generations old and comes from Chris Hollifield’s grandfathers (add a few “greats” in front of grandfather to get a sense of the recipe’s vintage).

It looks like a ton of fun to distill and then have customers, in growing numbers, appreciate the product but there’s no question that hours of work are required to keep the business running.  The partners, all three, were greatly affected by Caldwell County, NC’s permanently changing economy and not in a positive way.  In fact, the distillery idea was born from the events that forced their career changes.

Let’s talk about the taste of Carriage House brandy.   The apple brandy is not sweet like you may expect.  It tastes more like a whiskey or bourbon and drinks the same as well.  I’m told people mix it as well.  Carriage House’s “Strawberry Infusion” brandy is what you may expect – a sweet, 60-proof sipper that carries a slightly fruity note as the flavor trails away.  You’d likely drink this slightly warm or, at least, at room temperature.

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The story above is my report for UNC-TV’s nightly program “North Carolina Now.”  The Mauney family is turning out some, literally, top-shelf gin in King’s Mountain, North Carolina.  I really enjoyed their hospitality and was very impressed with Cardinal Gin’s smooth and rounded flavor.  The Mauneys are absolutely correct when they say their gin is not a typical London Dry Gin.  It isn’t.  There are more herbs and botanicals in this style of “Western gin” than you can count and certainly detect on your palette.  There’s no question the impact of the traditional ingredient, juniper berries, is prevalent but not dominant.

Southern Artisan Spirits is a family-owned business, which is also something I appreciate.  It’s the ultimate in business risk-taking because the business must profit and the owners must get along personality-wise.  Alex & Charlie Mauney are brothers who, I learned, are good cooks.  Their partner is Jim Mauney – their father.  Jim’s job and 33-year career ended during the outward migration of textile jobs from King’s Mountain, a common story with a plot that still doesn’t seem right to me.

At present moment, there are only a handful of distilleries producing a legal spirit in North Carolina.  There are likely more than a handful of bootleggers but they don’t necessarily like being on a TV camera to tell their story.   Cardinal Gin is the only gin made in NC so, if you try, remember that the company owners, “executives,” if you will, have distilled and bottled your drink.  That’s customer service…..until they grow large enough to hire workers, which appears to be happening.  Good luck, Guys!

Southern Artisan Spirits has also received attention from South Carolina media.  The show “Around Carolina” on Time Warner Cable visited King’s Mountain and posted this profile TV story.

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I spent the past week touring two craft distilleries – Carolina Distillery in Lenoir, North Carolina (makers of Carriage House brandies) and Southern Artisan Spirits of King’s Mountain, North Carolina (makers of Cardinal Gin). Obviously, it’s wildly interesting to see a distillery in action no matter the fact it’s an ordinary day at work for the distillers. But, I’d overlooked the fact that economic changes of the last decade had severely changed the employment picture, and not for the better.

Most of the people I met for my reporting, all partners in their respective distilleries, entered the industry after watching a previous career path vanish. How often would meet people who lose their jobs and careers and then determine they’ll get back on their feet by making craft spirits for the retail liquor market? It’s amazing dreaming and makes me proud that such “wild” and outside-the-box thinking exists and can prosper.

Back to the drinks. I found this review of Cardinal Gin by Southern Artisan Spirits, a company consisting of two twin brothers and their father. This gin has won medals and one review lists it as one of the top five gins in the WORLD. It’s not a dry gin. It’s not a traditional recipe in the truest sense and drinkers are approving of it.

I didn’t find an online review for Carolina Distillery’s Carriage House brandies but must share my appreciation for co-owners Kenny, Keith and Chris for having myself and videographer Alan Brown on their premises for a story. They’re offering a traditional recipe of brandy, focusing on apple brandy but now have rolled out a smooth strawberry brandy.

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I had a great time heading the Goldsboro for a couple of stories recently.  America’s top triathlete for 2010 lives in Goldsboro and trains there.  What popped out in this story is the fact that George Worrell returned home to Goldsboro to help his dad, Tony Worrell, run the family ham company, which specializes in traditional Southern country ham curing.  It’s an impressive operation and a neat experience to see Wayco Ham Company first hand.  It’s great that my job allows me to tell stories of job creators in North Carolina.

Here’s a link to Wayco Ham Company’s website:  Wayco Hams

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George Worrell is from Goldsboro, NC and he’s 2010′s #1 amateur triathlete for his age bracket – which happens to be my age bracket.  I interviewed a few weeks ago and learned that once you can run for an hour straight, it often feels like you can run forever.  I also learned that some people (George in this case) doesn’t find a weekend bicycle ride very useful unless it reaches 100 miles or so.    And I thought doing an hour on the elliptical machine meant I was in good shape.   Back to the drawing board for me….here’s George’s story I produced for UNC-TV’s North Carolina Now

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It was nice to watch a game in NC State’s Reynolds Coliseum recently; it was my first since watching then-new head coach Sidney Lowe lead the Pack against Marist in the opening round of the 2006 NIT.  Now, as then, the seats and view were equally bad but the atmosphere was electric and nostalgic.

Reynolds may be a vintage facility but it’s well maintained  and the playing floor was beautiful.  It brought me back to the days when my buddies and I would get up well before dawn to sit in front of the Wolfpack ticket office to get front row, or close to it, seats along court side.  Not a thing seemed to have changed except the calendar on this Friday.

While you cannot deny the history of Reynolds, I think the lower ceiling and all the steel supports lend a multiplying factor to the home crowd noise.  It’s pure fuel when the Pack goes on a roll and it’s fuel that I’ve not really felt in the RBC Center during its loudest moments – though the Carolina Hurricanes’ crowds can absolutely create thunder.  When the band plays in Reynolds, you hear it clearly.  When the student section launches a chant, you hear it and understand it.  I like that a lot.

The oval shape of Reynolds is not something I relish.  RBC Center is vastly superior in terms of fan view of the court.  There is no exception.  So, how do you bottle the Reynolds vibe and mix it with the RBC Center’s comfort?  Oh well.  I’ll enjoy the comfortable seats and easy access to concessions for the time or two I attend a Wolfpack basketball game each season.

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Don’t think for a second that all moonshine and distilled spirits, if they’re made in North Carolina, are illegal.  They’re not.  Digging through different yet fun angles to cover for UNC-TV, I learned that in-state, professional, legalized distilling is happening throughout the western part of North Carolina.  I’ve already visited Troy & Sons in Asheville; a colleague of mine had visited Piedmont distillers.  So, I’ll be traveling to Lenoir, NC  and Kings Mountain, NC where the distilled spirit isn’t modern-day moonshine, but brandy and gin.

As part of that NC Now Special, Jan Matthews-Hodges has been very kind to offer recipes for cooking segments using moonshine and/or brandy.  Jan was on camera and I produced along with Mike Oniffrey and Mark Stroupe two recipe videos – apples sauteed in moonshine & a moonshine banana bread.

Public TV sure gets its share of lumps but it would be impossible to travel this state to bring people many stories that would otherwise be overlooked or not viable when filling local newscasts.  I’ve worked in both commercial news and now public TV and believe both fit very well together when our time for watching TV these days is limited.

Thanks to Mark and Mike for giving these segments their “look.”

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I’m gearing up to produce two, new cooking segments with Jan Matthews-Hodges.  She hit a grand slam with two excellent sweet potato recipes, so I’ve challenged her to come with with two new recipes.  The featured ingredient is basically moonshine, but North Carolina-distilled apple brandy will be used as well.

The idea of food segments is highly appealing and I really don’t know why.  But, I watch Anthony Bourdain even as I type this.  Andrew Zimmern is DVR’d.  The last two food segments, which I produced but did not appear on camera, just felt “right.”  Simple and helpful.

And I learned a very good sweet potato pancake recipe as a result.  Moonshine, here we come……the legal moonshine, that is.

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