Living Off the Grid and Making "Shine"



The store on Main Street, Marion

I headed out down Interstate 81 recently to find out more about this moonshine I heard one man was making in Marion, Virginia.  A legal version of the stuff we all have heard was secretly made in the rural mountains of Appalachia.  And yup, right there in downtown Marion, we found the Mercantile and tasting room right in the middle of Main Street.  How cool is this? Inside this Mercantile & Stillhouse Store you can come in, taste their spirits and take a tour of the facility.  And that's just what we did.  And yes, it's made in the hills of rural Appalachia.  But this stuff -- is 100% legally because he pays federal taxes on everything he sells.

We went inside and got to talk with the owner, Scott Schumaker, who told us that he accidentally made this moonshine when looking for a fuel source for his home.  He lives off the grid in Marion and when he asked for advice on making the perfect fuel to power his home, his buddies told him, "you haven't been making this to burn, you've been making this to drink."  And what a drink it is - good old fashioned corn whiskey - made from corn mash and produced in stills.  Scott sat down with us to tell his tale (a very brief version of it because it took him years to be able to open this ABC store and tasting room) and it's quite a story.  When you go to Marion - be sure to hear it for yourself and tell Scott we said hi! See our visit in the video here:












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