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Exhibit highlights moonshine making - 2.5.08

White lightnin'.....white liquor....mountain dew....or moonshine. Whatever you call it, this is a story about the roots of illegal distilling in the Southern Virginia mountains. An exhibit at Ferrum College's Blue Ridge Institute showcases the folk tradition in a fitting location, as Franklin County was once known as the Moonshine Capitol. Produced by WVTF's Connie Stevens, here's the story as told from an interview with museum director Roddy Moore, with a little help from some Franklin County music recorded over the years on the topic of moonshine. Listen.

White Liquor, Blue Ridge Style explores over a century of moonshining traditions in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The exhibit showcases the real nature of illegal distilling in the southern Virginia mountains—a folk tradition that went far beyond the mountains thanks to industrialization, traditional know-how, hard work, and lots of illegal activities.

Locally made alcohol was a common part of the foodways of the Blue Ridge. Apples were crushed, and the juice was distilled into brandy or fermented into hard cider. Grains were distilled into hard liquor or brewed into a “beer” or malt drink.

White Liquor, Blue Ridge Style tells its story through displays of actual stills, dozens of photographs, still makers’ tools, video interviews with retired moonshiners and federal agents, and a host of other documents and memorabilia.

White Liquor, Blue Ridge Style is funded by a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities & Public Policy.

Roddy Moore is the Director of the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum

• Staff