Sunday, April 24, 2016

Mystery Trip - Day 2 - part 1

After a rather extensive drive along the Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach's Beachfront) and going by the golf course where the idea for Sports Illustrated originated (remember, the clue to where we were going was 'home of Sports Illustrated'. I mentioned that in my previous post) we headed south out of the main beach area on hwy. 17. 

We are riding along, wondering where we will end up next when that big, ole bus just whipped off the road and into the parking lot of a little store. What the heck!! And, we said 'what the heck' even more loudly when we saw the sign. A big, ole sign stating that this is the Palmetto Moonshine Distillery. 
Lordy, mercy, me.


But, it turned out to be most enjoyable. Really, I kid you not. The store was divided into two sections -  gifts and moonshine. 

On the gift side, where the shelves were loaded with all sorts of sauces, jellies, pickles, candles, etc. all made with moonshine,.......
one of the staff told us all about why men made moonshine illegally. It was to keep from paying taxes!! And, it was to help feed their families during the rough years of the Depression. But, now, South Carolina (and who knows where else) it is legal to make the liquor and to ship it. The original still was on display. See it below along the wall!

The actual distillery is in Anderson, South Carolina, with a much larger still now. The stuff is quite on demand!! 

The gentleman staffer told us then to move over to the 'other side' and we'd have a tasting. 

                     My daughter looked at me 'Mom, are you going to do that?' 
                                                  
                                                           and I said 'heck, yes'. 

I've never had moonshine before so I guess I can add that to my 'I did it before I kicked the bucket' list. 

The staffer should have been a stand-up comedian. He was so funny, so entertaining. 

                                 Here comes one of the staff with a tray full of  'shots'..... 

The shots were really 'communion' size little bitty things. So, no problem of anyone drinking too much.... and the store didn't go broke giving us a whole bunch of moonshine for free!!

 and we all were to down them at the same time.....


We tasted three different flavored moonshine. My favorite was apple-pie. And, I bought a whole quart to bring home with me. I am going to surprise someone with it!! And, I bought a pint of sweet pickles made with moonshine. Boy, are they good. Wish I had bought more. 


So, that was the morning of the second day of our mystery trip. 


Our bus tour group behind the counter. daughter Shirley is in gray 4th from left. I am in white next to the post on the right side. The bus driver, the funny Palmetto staffer in middle and Donna, our tour guide.

Like I said before, we had no clue where we were going at any time of the entire trip. Some of it I really enjoyed, some of it wasn't really my cup of tea but it was a fun trip. 

                                                                                                 

8 comments:

  1. I bet that was a big surprise on your mystery tour! My best friend from school was originally from Tennessee and her relatives brought moonshine up to their home in Indiana. We all had to taste it, of course, and it took your breath away.

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  2. I love this post! What fun! I have actually had a couple of different moonshines to taste (out of a quart jar no less!) at a gathering in Elizabeth City when we lived there. Actually very good! How funny that the tour included this stop...what an adventure! Glad you weren't squeamish about the tasting! Those pickles I bet are really good too.

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  3. Now.....the idea of sweet pickles really gets my taste buds salivating. Wondering if I can purchase them online somewhere. I'm sure I'd love 'em.

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    1. Try Palmetto Moonshine. I'm not sure if they ship online but it's worth a try.

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  4. Looks like so much fun!! I am so glad you got to go!!

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  5. You tried Apple PAI!! The sacred recipe of Mags Bennett of JUSTIFIED. I think you'd have even liked her if you'd only sat and chatted over a Mason Jar, and not learned her real self.

    We have a little set of several flavors in tee-ninecy "pint" jars---maybe 6 ounces each. A gift from guests, and we'll get around to sampling them all someday.

    So glad you had such a grand time!

    rachel

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  6. What a great place to visit! Glad you had a taster, it would have been a shame not too!

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