In a move that warmed the hearts of spirits enthusiasts across Tennessee, the legislature passed a law in 2009 that cleared the way for new distilleries to start up in the state, providing that they received approval at the county level. This past November, the citizens of Cannon County voted in a referendum to allow Billy Kaufman and his brothers David and Ben to chase their dream of opening Short Mountain Distillery on their 300-acre family farm in Liberty, Tenn., about an hour southeast of Nashville.
Billy Kaufman — descendant of the founder of Samsonite (his great-grandfather) and the man who brought Samsonite jobs to Murfreesboro (his grandfather) — had the idea to start producing artisan spirits in Cannon County (an area long known for quality moonshine) in a sustainable way while also providing jobs for the people in the surrounding rural area.
Short Mountain has already received recognition as the first farm in Cannon County to seek official USDA organic recognition. They intend to maintain their sustainability efforts as they transition from strictly farming to distilling, including using some of the grain byproducts of the whiskeymaking process as organic fertilizer for their fields.
But the proof (no pun intended) will come when we actually get to taste their first fine 'shine.
