NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. — Wilkes County earned the title of “Moonshine Capital of the World” back in the 1950s for a reason.

The county was home to dozens of illegal distilleries run by people who said they could make more in one week running moonshine than they could in a month working in a factory.

What You Need To Know

  • Wilkes County has been known as the “Moonshine Capital of the World”

  • The Call family has been distilling moonshine and whiskey for the past seven generations

  • The family distills nine products that you can find in ABC stores and restaurants across the state

The original Call family member distilled alongside the original Jack Daniels, but he also held the title of Lutheran pastor. He had to make a choice between distilling whiskey or serving the Lord, and he chose the Lord’s work.

But the passion for making sour mash whiskey trickled down through the generations. Brian Call’s grandfather picked it back up in the 1950s but spent a majority of his time evading the revenuers looking for tax money. He went to prison in 1951 but made sure to pass along his passion to his son before he went behind bars.

Brian Call’s father started running moonshine when he was only 14 years old. 

“My dad told me he could make more in one week than he could a month, you know, working in a factory,” Brian Call said.

The Calls used all homegrown ingredients too, right from Wilkes County. They used corn meal from the local mill and water from streams across the county. 

 

Brian’s dad passed away nine years ago, but his memory is still very much alive in the modern day distillery, from the moonshine jars to the pictures on the wall. 

“I tell everybody I was home schooled — he kinda taught me how to make whiskey when I was small,” Call said. “We decided after he passed ... to open up our own distillery and share some of the history and the way the Call family made moonshine and whiskey for generations.”

They make nine products, from moonshine to whiskey to cinnamon liquor, which they sell at ABC stores and restaurants across the state. 

“I just love to make moonshine and whiskey, and I look forward every day to coming to work,” he said. “If you ever start doing it, it’s hard to quit. But one good thing about it, I don’t have to look over my shoulder like my dad and grandpa did.”

The Calls keep their family recipes a secret, but you can find more information on how to make your own sour mash whiskey at home here.