Revooners raid Dawsonville moonshine still

Photo from Dawson Advertiser

Yep. The 'Revooners' (aka ATF) conducted a daring daylight raid on the Dawsonville Moonshine Distillery Friday, hoping to find moonshine in production. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had gotten a tip that moonshine was not only being brewed at the Distillery but also the dreaded white lightening was being sold on the premises.

AFT agents spent four hours at the Distillery, (which just so happens to be located next to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame), and left after they couldn't find any moonshine. They did find a still, which the owner of the Dawsonville Moonshine Distillery had unloaded the day before in anticipation of the 44th annual Mountain Moonshine Festival. The festival honors Dawsonville's legendary bootlegging, moonshining heritage.

"I thought I was going to jail," said Calvin Byrd, one of the organizers of the festival, as he described the AFT's raid.

While no moonshine was being produced when the AFT agents swarmed the place, that doesn't mean that the Distillery isn't going to LEGALLY make moonshine some day. In fact, plans call for the 6,5000 sq. ft. space located in the Dawsonville City Hall to one day produce moonshine which will ultimately be sold to a distributor for eventual sale to consumers. No moonshine will be sold on the Distillery's premises.

Operations permits are still pending. Expected to open by the end of the year, the Distillery will produce 'white lightning' based on recipes handed down from one generation of moonshiners to another. For more details, check out this AJC article.