November Nights in Gatlinburg: Moonshine Tastings and Live Music

Tennessee is famed for music and moonshine. Combine the two, and you get the perfect November night! Here’s your guide to a cool fall evening in downtown Gatlinburg, with tastings and tunes.

What to Expect at a Moonshine Tasting

Moonshines come in dozens of flavors, from fruits to coffee to cream flavors. Try seasonal ‘shines made specially for the time of year. Ask the distillery’s tasting guide all the questions you want, from how ‘shine’s made, to how you can use it in cocktails, or how it pairs with food.

Sugarlands Distilling Co.

Gather around the circular tasting bar, where a “tastemaker” will guide you through a 12-flavor tasting. Sugarlands changes its tasting flavors daily, so visit on different days for different experiences each time.

Ole Smoky Distillery

Ole Smoky’s Gatlinburg location, The Holler, offers two tempting options. The regular tasting introduces you to seven moonshines and whiskeys for $5. The premium tasting, for $8, gives you all the samples from the regular tasting, plus an additional three samples. Flavors vary daily.  

Tennessee Shine Co.

Sample eight moonshines for $5, five bourbons for $5, or combine those tastings for just $8 for 13 shots total, with a coupon for merchandise included. Like other distilleries, Tennessee Shine Co. picks different samples daily. Don’t forget to ask to see the old-school still!

Where to Hear Live Music

Before or after your tasting, tap your toes to a huge variety of music. Start with a distillery that also features bands on its center stage.

Ole Smoky Distillery

The Gatlinburg location is home to live music most days, often at noon and 5 p.m. Listen to local acts play, then head over to the tasting bar.

Ole Red

Blake Shelton’s Ole Red promises a honky-tonk atmosphere where you can hear up-and-coming artists and popular country acts too. Musical acts are on stage all day long and into the night, so it’s easy to grab a meal and listen to live music before you hit the ‘shine trail.

Hard Rock Cafe

You name it, Hard Rock has it: Award-winning country bands, acoustic singer-songwriters, local rockers, “punkgrass” where punk and bluegrass meet. 

Bring home your favorite moonshine and sip it at your comfy, warm Gatlinburg cabin. Reserve a cabin today and plan your November night on the town.