Local distillery asks lawmakers for help | GainesvilleTimes.com

Several north Georgia legislators in town for the Georgia Mountain Region Commission’s monthly meeting last Thursday were poised with a question when they toured the Dawsonville Moonshine Distillery.

“What do we need to do to be able to sell bottles of our legal moonshine to tourists visiting the distillery?” said Dwight Bearden.

Dressed in his overalls and signature bucket hat, Bearden, the backwoods distiller responsible for making the first batches of legal moonshine in Dawsonville at the local distillery, said the ability to sell bottles of the spirits would be a big boon for the local business.

“We’re just edging by the way it is now,” he told Sen. Jack Murphy, R-Cumming, and Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega. “Being able to sell it here would for sure be a big help.”

Current law took effect last year to allow visitors to sample up to a half ounce of spirits per person, per day when touring a distillery.

However, those who want to take a bottle of the liquor home with them must make the purchase away from the distillery at a retail package store.

via Local distillery asks lawmakers for help.