Joe Got A Gun Batch No.1 Tennessee Whiskey

Smoky TN Whiskey made by an ex-politician.

Mike Williams used to be a state representative of Tennessee on Capitol Hill, where he helped galvanize the craft movement in his state by pushing new legislation on distilling in 2009. Before that law, only three counties in Tennessee could produce booze legally: Coffee, Moore, and Lincoln. Now, you can start your Whiskey business in any county in the Volunteer State if it’s not dry. Then, Mike quit smoke-filled rooms of Washington and established Collier and McKeel in Nashville, next to Corsair Artisan Distillery, run by his friend. Mike is a descendant of Whiskey makers and he named his distillery after two distillers from the late 1700s who moved to Tennessee to escape the possibility of another Whiskey rebellion in their home states. Colliers and McKeel produces Moonshine, Vodka, and Tennessee Whiskey, winning awards left and right.

Joe Got a Gun is a three-year-old Tennessee Whiskey from twenty carefully picked barrels. Like other Whiskeys from the area, it’s filtered using the Lincoln County Process, although with a slight tweak: the juice is slowly pumped through charcoal instead of using gravity. The mash bill is 80% corn, 10% rye, and 10% malted barley. The nose is elegantly smoky, and the palate is complex and delightful.