FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Distillers’ Association today announced that Kentucky Mist Moonshine in Letcher County is the newest and 28th member of the non-profit trade group that unites and leads the state’s signature Bourbon and distilled spirits industry.
Owner Colin Fultz has drawn upon his grandfather Henry Holbrook’s bootlegging history in the hills of Appalachia to create flavored moonshines using locally grown fruits and recipes passed down for generations.
“Colin and his team have done a fantastic job in resurrecting his family’s legacy and bringing jobs and tourism to this critical region of Kentucky,” KDA President Eric Gregory said. “We are inspired by their success and proudly welcome them to our distilling family.”
Fultz said, “Kentucky Mist Moonshine is a craft distillery born from a deep heritage of distilling spirits in Eastern Kentucky. We take pride in distilling every drop of alcohol used in our products and making flavored moonshine using whole fruit for the most genuine of taste.
“We are very excited and thankful to be the newest members of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association and look for forward to growing our relationship and our passion for spirits for many years to come.”
Kentucky Mist opened in 2015 at 128 East Main Street in downtown Whitesburg in the heart of Eastern Kentucky coal country. His grandfather, Henry Holbrook, was a bootlegger during Prohibition selling corn whiskey. “It was how he and his family survived,” Fultz said.
Holbrook was arrested in 1930 and sent to a federal penitentiary in Atlanta where Fultz said he formed a friendship with fellow bootlegger and notorious crime boss Al Capone. Holbrook spent 17 years in prison, but returned to bootleg moonshine in Kentucky. He died in 1986.
Forty years later, Fultz decided to make the family tradition into a legal business.
Products include flavored moonshines such as lemonade, apple pie and caramel apple, and others infused with blackberries, cherries, grapes and peaches. An aged corn moonshine and aged rum also are in the works, Fultz said.
Kentucky Mist’s tasting room and gift shop is open Monday through Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. The distillery is closed Sunday and Monday.
Visit www.kentuckymist.com for more information.
Founded in 1880, the KDA is the state’s voice for Bourbon and spirits issues. Its diverse membership produces 90 percent of the world’s Bourbon, from legendary, global brands to emerging micro distilleries that are building the next generation of the timeless craft.
Kentucky Bourbon is one of the Commonwealth’s most historic and treasured industries, a booming $3 billion economic engine that generates more than 15,400 jobs with an annual payroll topping $700 million and pours $166 million into state and local coffers each year.
The KDA’s world-famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® adventures also set an attendance record last year with nearly 900,000 guests touring an all-time high of 19 participating distilleries.
In addition, KDA member distilleries are in the middle of a $1.3 billion building boom, Gregory said, from innovative new tourism centers to expanded production facilities, all to meet the growing global thirst for Kentucky’s signature spirit.
As further proof of the Bourbon renaissance, the KDA recently announced that state distilleries filled nearly 1.9 million barrels of Bourbon last year, the largest amount in nearly a half-century, and paid a record $17.8 million in barrel taxes that fund education and public safety.
There are now 1.5 barrels for every person living in Kentucky.
Gregory said, “We are looking forward to working with Kentucky Mist Moonshine to secure the integrity of our timeless craft and strengthen the Commonwealth’s rightful place as the one, true and authentic home for Bourbon and distilled spirits.”
