Meet PCG Member – George Smith: Visionary Bootlegger
PCG Professional Member George Smith is the President and CEO of Copper Barrel Distillery — or as he’s better known to his friends and colleagues, the “Visionary Bootlegger.”
Copper Barrel opened in April 2015, and you’ll often find George on site overseeing strategy and logistics, running an event, or taking a sales call.
He was born and raised in Vermont, where his grandparents had a dairy farm. George credits the farm with the reason that he feels a strong tie to the agriculture industry today. He loved the time he spent on the farm growing up. It was a dairy farm with Holstein and Black Angus, and chicken, pigs and other animals, too. He fondly remembers helping out with the animals and working in the garden.
George has always been more of a liquor drinker than one to go for a beer or wine. He was working for IBM in 2012 when he became president of the Charlotte Bourbon Club, and became more and more interested in whiskey. He was fascinated by what makes each type of whiskey different and what goes into the making of spirits. His hobby eventually turned into an idea to get involved with the agricultural community as a business, and he had a friend who suggested they open a brewery. But the market was saturated, and they liked drinking whiskey better…so there you have it.
George had visited twelve cities and towns across the state, looking for specific needs for the distillery – everything from access to fresh water, to local grains. He went to a NC Main Street conference, where small businesses could get grants in exchange for revitalization of rural downtown communities.
There, George was introduced to Robert Johnson, the mayor of North Wilkesboro. Wilkes County has always been referred to as “The Moonshine Capital of America”. Robert supported George from the beginning, and George ended up selecting North Wilkesboro as the home of Copper Barrel Distillery.
“When George went to find a place to start Copper Barrel, he looked not only for a place with a rich moonshine heritage but also for a community where his company could do right by the people who live there,” says Kurt Graves, CEO Chair at Vistage. “George is the first guy to think of the other guy.”
It’s that appreciation and support of local agricultural products as well as supporting the community as a whole which lead George to the Piedmont Culinary Guild.
“I joined the PCG because I believe in and support the mission and goals of the organization. I love the idea of connecting the food chain. This ties right back to my roots and I believe in supporting that effort.”
With Copper Barrel, George’s focus is producing truly authentic artisanal spirits. George works alongside his partner, Master Distiller Buck Nance, a true artisan with over 50 years of experience in equipment design, fabrication, and operation.
Their flagship product is an award-winning moonshine, White Lightning. They source their grains from local farms and mills. Their corn comes from Linney’s Water Mill, who has been in business for 187 years.
Copper Barrel sources their fruit from local farms, as well – tart cherries, black cherries, blueberries, strawberries are staples in their product line. Each batch is blended with water they extract on site from the Crystalline-Rock Aquifer to create smooth and full-flavored spirits.
You can purchase Copper Barrel products in the home distillery and in liquor stores throughout NC, SC, and TN. In fact, Copper Barrel moonshine is the most widely distributed craft sprit in NC – found the products in several restaurants and bars throughout the state.
“We are pleased to offer Copper Barrel Moonshine because it is from Wilkes County and we like their commitment to authenticity,” says Lynne Mason, owner of Lost Province in Boone. “It has been fun to expose our guests to Moonshine with a variety of cocktails and George has shared some great cocktail ideas with us.”
Core values are important to George and to Copper Barrel Distillery, particularly honor and integrity. Producing a truly authentic Wilkes County moonshine is very important to him. He likes being up front about where his products are from and how they are made.
Additionally, the preservation of the craft spirits heritage in NC is important to George. He has started “Moonshine Heritage Day” in North Wilkesboro and there are events tied to this special day across the county and state.
“George Smith is a great ambassador for all of NC and Wilkes County everywhere he goes,” notes Terry Bumgarner, Chairman, Wilkes Economic Development Corporation. “He speaks of how he loves to make spirits and of his newfound career. George has just accepted a seat on Wilkes County Economic Development Corporation. He promotes downtown North Wilkesboro with every breath he has, organizing music and cook-offs — anything to get people in the streets downtown. He is a true asset to our community.”
George hopes North Carolina will eventually declare moonshine as the official state spirit, to further help with tourism, and making NC a destination.
In the meantime, he and Copper Barrel Distillery are busy hosting an upcoming benefit concert, Shinetopia on April 20. He’s also staying busy doing good – he was recently awarded the NC Main Street Champion Award, honoring his dedication to the efforts to revitalize downtown North Wilkesboro.
Back at the distillery, Copper Barrel is working on several experimental flavors and products that they plan to release later this year.
Cheers to that!
Profile written by Bree Basham
Copper Barrel Distillery
508 Main Street
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659