Pineapple,
moonshine? Why, I had no idea that pineapples grew in Tennessee,
but that's just the tip of this iceberg. These folks have
a dozen flavors of Ole Smokey Moonshine. They must have caught
the flavor fever from the vodka producers who now offer hundreds
of exotic flavored vodkas. I could almost understand their
apple pie flavored moonshine or blackberry, strawberry, peach
or possibly even watermelon but come on, pineapple?
Traditionally,
moonshine is meant to be a pure, straightforward, un-aged
corn whiskey of high proof that causes swearing, thigh slapping,
foot stomping and back whacking and not some watered down
drink with an umbrella in it that causes delicate conversations
about pastel colored frocks, the shapes of fluffy clouds and
bemused gentle wonderings about the neighbor's latest indiscretion.
Ole Smokey's unflavored moonshine weighs in at 100 proof,
while the fruit flavored shine has been stepped back to a
gentle 40 proof. At that low proof, I would venture to not
call this stuff moonshine but maybe some sort of digestif
or aperitif or even a liqueur or maybe a froo-froo drink or
even sunshine rather than moonshine. Okay, now I admit all
these rants originate from my prejudiced purist soul that
demands that moonshine be moonshine and nothing but moonshine
and on the way down seriously injure my mouth and throat,
not to mention my liver. But maybe a taste will sway me from
my straight, narrow, highly opinionated blind and bigoted
path - let's see.
I'll
give them this, it comes in the traditional mason jar with
the screw down cap. The contents is pineapple in color, syrupy
looking, and definitely not transparent. The nose approximates
the smell of tart pineapple, with a hint of pear, and is sharp
but not alcohol sharp, as I cannot detect the aroma of the
alcohol at all. WOW, that's one sweet and fruity palate for
sure. There is definitely the taste of pineapple again followed
by the pear and a hint of orange, and although there is a
fair amount of sugar, it is balanced by a tartness I can't
quite put my finger on. I also get a bit of the traditional
sugar and corn flavor of standard moonshine. I detect little
to almost no alcohol in this blend. The finish is sweet and
short and smooth. It is so laid back that you could actually
sip this straight up without a problem. I find it rather pleasing
on the rocks, if just maybe a bit too much on the sweet side.
I tried it in iced tea and much to my surprise it played quite
nice, sweetening up the tea just enough. I do believe this
might make a very nice mixer in a margarita or maybe even
replace the simple syrup in a Long Island Iced Tea.
For
a low calorie, low alcohol, fruit flavored spirit, it's pleasant
enough, but I would recommend you get a jar of their full
strength 100 proof moonshine (it's the same price $19.99)
as this 40 proof pineapple flavored sunshine, slice up some
fresh pineapple and muddle up a batch and let me know which
one you prefer.
By George Brozowski
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vvvvvvvvvvv
