Chattanooga Whiskey Company

Chattanooga Whiskey Company
Industry Whiskey
Founder Tim Piersant & Joe Ledbetter
Headquarters Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Area served
 USA
Brands 1816 Reserve and 1816 Cask
Website chattanoogawhiskey.com

The Chattanooga Whiskey Company is a producer of whiskey. Currently, its 1816 brand of whiskey is being manufactured at MGP/LDI of Indiana. However, the company began production of their own whiskey in March, 2015 and was the first legal distillery in Chattanooga, Tennessee since Prohibition.

History

In the late 1800s, Chattanooga, Tennessee had more than 30 distilleries and was the largest distilling center in the state. Then came Prohibition, and it was all shut down. It stayed that way until nearly 100 years later, when Joe Ledbetter and Tim Piersant founded the Chattanooga Whiskey Company.[1] In 2009, the Tennessee Legislature voted to change distillation laws in certain counties, but Hamilton County was not one of them.[2] Ledbetter and Piersant used social media to kick-off the campaign with the question on Facebook, “Would you drink Chattanooga Whiskey?”.[3] The men kept the topic in the public forum, hosting several events to encourage residents to "Vote Whiskey".[4] In November 2012, supporters went before the Hamilton County Commission.[5] In the end, the Commission approved a plan to send the measure to Nashville where lawmakers could vote on the future of distilling in Hamilton County.[6][7][8] Governor Bill Haslam signed the bill into law in the Spring of 2013.[9]

Present

The Chattanooga Whiskey products are currently mostly being made at the MGP/LDI distillery in Indiana. Prohibition made it illegal to distill in Chattanooga.

After a successful public campaign in 2013 to overturn Hamilton County's ban on distilleries, Chattanooga Whiskey opened a new microdistillery, named the Tennessee Stillhouse, in March 2015 in downtown Chattanooga, across from the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo building.[10]

There are three brand variations of Chattanooga-branded whiskey: 1816 Reserve, 1816 Cask and 1816 Single Barrel. All are classified as straight bourbon whiskey. The 1816 date is the date of the establishment of the first trading post along the Tennessee River which became Chattanooga.[11] The Chattanooga Whiskey Company says its 1816 line is from a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley. 1816 Reserve is 90 proof while the 1816 Cask is 113.6 proof. The bourbon won gold and double gold awards at the 2016 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.[12] The company has a 1913 four-cylinder White Depot Hack whiskey truck that has been restored to operating condition.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "TN Whiskey Trail Whiskey FriendsTN Whiskey Trail". Tennesseewhiskeytrail.com. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  2. ↑ "Why Chattanooga Whiskey isn't made in Chattanooga". Nashville Business Journal. 10/09/2012. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ↑ "Whiskey distillers draw on Chattanooga's past". Times Free Press. 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  4. ↑ Morrison, Chloe' (2012-03-14). "Chattanooga Whiskey Company product coming to stores next month". Nooga.com.
  5. ↑ Harrison, Kate (2012-11-16). "Chattanooga Whiskey backers pack Hamilton County Courthouse". Chattanooga Times Free-Press.
  6. ↑ Hightower, Cliff (2012-11-22). "Chattanooga Whiskey Letter looking for signatures". Chattanooga Times Free-Press.
  7. ↑ "Group gathers signatures in support of whiskey". Knoxnews.com. 2013-03-30.
  8. ↑ Humphreys, Tom (2013-04-15). "Bill for Gatlinburg Moonshine, Chattanooga Whiskey Gets House OK". Knox News.
  9. ↑ Sher, Andy (2013-05-18). "Political Notebook: Gov. Haslam signs whiskey law". Chattanooga Times Free-Press.
  10. ↑ John Rawlston (May 12, 2015). "How it's made: the illustrated guide to distilling Chattanooga Whiskey". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Chattanooga: History-Native Americans Displaced by Early Settlers". Local History & Genealogical Collections. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  12. ↑ Phipps, Sean (2016-04-06). "Chattanooga Whiskey receives high honors at World Spirits Competition". nooga.com.
  13. ↑ "Chattanooga Whiskey Company 1913 White Depot Hack". YouTube. 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2014-07-17.

External links

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