Ribbon Cutting at Palmetto Moonshine

On Saturday, March 31, at 11:00 a.m., the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for Palmetto Moonshine to celebrate the grand opening of South Carolina's first legal moonshine distillery located at 200 West Benson Street in downtown Anderson. Festivities will include complimentary tastings, distillery tours, food, and gifts. In addition, Jerry Alexander, author of Where Have All Our Moonshiners Gone, will be at the event from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. to discuss the history of our area's moonshiners.

Brothers and Anderson natives, Trey and Bryan Boggs, have owned and operated local businesses for the past decade, and their latest venture is making moonshine – legally! Palmetto Moonshine will sell traditional 105 proof ''white lightning'' moonshine, which customers can see being made on site in the micro distillery. They also soon plan to add additional flavors including blackberry, apple pie, and peach.

The State of South Carolina issued Palmetto Moonshine a permit to legally produce moonshine on January 5, 2011, making it the first micro distillery to legally produce moonshine in the state. Aside from stacks of legal documents, much preparation was put into the opening of Palmetto Moonshine. Trey and Bryan wanted to ensure that the product would meet the expectations and demands of local residents, as well as prepare the building and distillery for the public. Keeping true to history, Palmetto Moonshine will produce its moonshine in an old fashioned copper still and bottle it in Mason jars, allowing customers to purchase a taste of SC history.

The Boggs brothers' intent is that Palmetto Moonshine will preserve the craft and spark more revenue for the downtown Anderson area. Anderson has been historically significant to the state of South Carolina, having been the first city in the south to have an unlimited supply of electric power, as well as the home of the first electric powered cotton gin