IWNA Issue 1, 2019

“How can I distract you today?” Jenny asks us with her sly smile and country accent as we enter a tiny

cottage in the woods of southern Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. Jenny’s job is to ply us with moonshine

made in the cabin’s basement. But this is no unlawful encounter — everything is perfectly legal. In

recent years, Branson distillers have emerged from the shadows of an illicit past into the modern-day

industry of craft spirits.

A NOT-SO-CLANDESTINE BUSINESS

Making the drive to

Copper Run Distillery

in the hills north of town can feel like searching for a secret

location still hidden in the woods. Once you turn off Highway 65 onto Bear Creek Road, the shoulder

disappears, and trees line the path that winds past bucolic horse ranches. As it curves farther into the

forest, the road’s authentic, rugged character begins to emerge. After careful driving over a few cracks

MISCELLANEOUSTOCK/Alamy Stock Photo

Missouri

BRANSON

’S

SECRETIVE

SPIRIT

COMES OUT

INTO THE

OPEN.

By Carrie Dow

At Missouri Ridge Distillery, moonshine is a family business — one that has

been brewing since Prohibition. RIGHT: The recipient of five medals at the

2017 Denver International Spirits Competition — among other accolades —

Missouri Ridge Distillery takes pride in its award-winning spirits.

Carrie Dow