I wanted to go wine tasting in Gatlinburg and I was told I had should go moonshine tasting as well. Because I am a planner, I had figured out which winery and shinery I wanted to visit. I even wrote them on the spreadsheet that I emailed me so I could reference it on vacation. Instead of verifying the name of the winery and shinery, I assumed it was Gatlinburg Winery. I was on a mission on finding a new blackberry wine since we've not been to Basil's (aka Down Time Wines) in a few years and I'm out of blackberry.
Stop #1 Gatlinburg Winery
We hopped on the trolley after dinner and had them drop us off at the end of the Parkway which was a short walk to Gatlinburg Winery. We got there shortly before closing but I was still able to taste. You get three shots of wine for free. I tasted:
Orange Sherbet -- I picked this one since I never had a orange wine before and the hubby suggested it. It tasted just like orange sherbet. It was good but I don't think I'd drink a whole bottle.
Cotton Candy Peach -- I learned that it's not made from actual cotton candy but cotton candy grapes which makes the wine sweeter. I really liked this one and it came home.
Blackberry -- It was not Basil's blackberry. It was too tart and dry for me. Basil spoiled me and it's going to be hard to replace it.
Stop #2 Smokin' Banjo Winery
After stopping here, I wasn't completely sure that was the right place. As we walked down the Parkway, I spotted Smokin' Banjo Winery and they were offering free tastings so I figured why not. Again it is 3 mini shots of wine for free. They offered sparkling wines, ciders, and even cream wines. I tried
Backroad Jam -- This was a strawberry and blackberry blend. It was definitely not what I was looking for.
Granny Smith Cider -- It was okay but not a favorite.
Sweet Cream Revival -- This is was a cotton candy cream wine. Think Baileys in as a wine. It was sweet and creamy. It was something different but really good. I wanted to sleep on buying it. We got about 5 feet out the store when I decided I might as well get it now. Yup this one came back with me too.
Stop #3 Tennessee Homemade Wines
As we continued down the Parkway, I finally found the winery I wanted to visit -- Tennessee Homemade Wines. Like the others, you get 3 shots for free. I went with
Blackberry -- This is Tennessee's best selling wine. It was good enough to get a bottle but Basil has me spoiled and I have a feel nothing will ever compare to Down Time Wines Blackberry Wine.
Mountain Chocolate -- This wasn't bad for chocolate wine.
White Muscadine -- This was refreshing but I didn't really feel it call my name.
I wanted Old Apple but it was sold out. I also had a bonus sample of Peanut Butter and Jelly. The PB&J was surprising good even though I don't like PB&J sandwiches. You definitely tasted the peanut butter. Do not wrinkle your nose until you taste it.
Stop #4 Sugarlands Distilling Company
I was told I could taste moonshine all over the place. I wanted to go to Ole Smoky but for some reason, I couldn't remember the name and wandered in the first one I saw which was Sugarlands. For $5, you could get 12 mini shots of moonshine and it's in a group setting. You get a bartending that pours your group the shots and explains what each one is. After the tasting you get $5 off in the store. So if you buy something your tasting is free essentially.
They start you off with the 120 proof original moonshine. It burned going down. It was bad but not horrible.
We tasted various flavors including peppermint stick. They ranged from 50 proof (apple) to 100 proof (peppermint stick). Honest none of them were horrible. That just could be the wine talking too.
We also tasted sipping creams which are all 40 proof. This is more my kind of moonshine. We ended the evening with Eggo Brunch in a Jar.
If I wasn't already laden down with 3 bottles of wine, I would have seriously considered getting some sipping cream but I was on a budget and $30 for sipping cream was out of my budget. One day I'll get some.
There were even more places to try along the Parkway but we were pretty tired and decided to head back to hotel. For the record I had 9 shots of wine and 12 shots of moonshine and was still feeling pretty good but really didn't think I should try any more being such a lightweight even if we were walkign back to the hotel.
I highly suggest sipping your way along the Parkway the next time you are in Gatlinburg.
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