Welcome to the wonderful South.
The land where overalls are considered formal, dogs are commonly in the family will, and running moonshine is a national pastime that grew into a multi-billion dollar sport. Yep. Let’s not forget about grits… mmmmmmmmmmm grits, and of course diabetic-inducing sweet tea!
This Car and Driver assignment took me from the dirt roads of Eastern NC, through the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, then finishing at their offices to deliver the… um, flavored bottles of water. It was a great throwback to the old age of moonshine running, where the cars doing the transporting weren’t exactly flashy, but had the muscle under the hood in case the fuzz got a whiff of what’s in the trunk. And if the coppers get a good sniff, the Lingenfelter-blown Chevy SS has a pretty good chance of… um, merging into traffic faster. Let’s make that a 3.7 second 0-to-legal-60mph to be exact.
Again, when dealing with the ranks of the Car and Driver staff, my witty blog posts are nothing in comparison to their cream-of-the-crop writers. The full feature story is a real hoot. So if you’ve read this far, do yourself a favor and read the masterwork of my partner in shine crime, Ezra Dyer:
Whiskey Rebellion
…Funny, I have acquired a distinct taste for fine bourbon after this trip. We were generously gifted a box of select bottles from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. 2yr Buffalo Trace for my old fashioneds, Eagle Rare when I want a kick, and Blanton’s for a trip through bourbon bliss.