Big Beard & Still Will

Big Beard & Still Will Check out MoonshineBros.store for more!

East Tennessee brothers sharing real Appalachian moonshine culture through festivals and events, stories, jar releases, still builds, some custom copper and barrel craft, and shirts designed for people who know.

Thanks to all of you, we just hit 3,000 followers! ...and that seems like a pretty good excuse to dig WAY back into the ...
09/17/2026

Thanks to all of you, we just hit 3,000 followers! ...and that seems like a pretty good excuse to dig WAY back into the archives. 😄

About 15 or 16 years ago - long before Big Beard and Will were hangin' around moonshine events, building still parts, workin' with barrel staves, or making T-shirts - we were building and modifying old Suzuki motorcycles with our Dad.

Dad started it, of course. He found a beautiful, nearly stock 1982 Suzuki GS750EZ - a literal barn find that we ended up calling "The Godfather." You can barely spot it in the picture of the three of us. Will followed with a 1983 GS850GD, and Big Beard bought his first motorcycle, a bone-stock 1979 GS425L.

If you know us at all by now, you can probably guess how long ours stayed stock. Not very damn long. 😂

We threw Big Beard's little 425 together in about 72 hours because we had a motorcycle meetup that weekend. Some sanding and prep, textured paint, exhaust paint and wrap, a few things left over from the Air Force, a trip to the surplus store, and some custom-welded plate side covers and luggage rack completely changed it from a little chopper-inspired cruiser into something that looked like an old military bike.

Only later did we learn that the 1979 GS425 was a ONE-YEAR model! Oops. 😅

Will's GS850 was a much bigger project. Among a ton of other work, he cut and modified the frame, welded it back together, handmade the side covers out of fiberglass, had the bike painted, and then laid the pinstriping himself - We ended up calling it "Cafe XL."

And yes - these pictures are old enough that Big Beard was actually No Beard. 😂

A lot has changed since then, but apparently the habit of findin' something we like and immediately figuring out how to build, modify, repurpose, or otherwise mess with it never really went away.

These days the pictures are more likely to involve copper, bourbon barrel staves (Whiskeybite Workshop), mason jars, T-shirts (MoonshineBros.store), moonshine events, jar releases, and all the people we've been lucky enough to meet along the way.
..and to all the new folks who found us through Hillbilly Jam, Farm To Bottle, the South Mountain Triple Jar Release, and everything else we’ve been out doing lately - CreepyCon? 👻- we're glad you’re here.

Somehow, more than 3,000 of you have decided to follow along with all of that...and we appreciate every damn one of you. ✊

Thanks for comin' along for the ride.

We already knew about the cardboard JB Rader in the window near the event entrance at South Mountain Distilling.....but ...
09/14/2026

We already knew about the cardboard JB Rader in the window near the event entrance at South Mountain Distilling...
..but then we found THIS one wedged between the stills! 😂

That sent us back through our pictures, and sure enough, we found another cardboard JB hangin' out in the window behind 2 Dogs Down, too.

So now we're pretty sure the real game at South Mountain is seein' how many JB Raders you can spot before somebody points one out. 😄

This one between the stills might be our favorite, though - just standin' there like he's been assigned to keep an eye on production.

We had a damn good time at South Mountain Saturday...and apparently spent part of it bein' watched by multiple cardboard JB Raders. 😅

We made it to South Mountain Distilling yesterday for the Triple Moonshine Release Party...and had a damn good time. 😄Af...
09/13/2026

We made it to South Mountain Distilling yesterday for the Triple Moonshine Release Party...and had a damn good time. 😄

After the 4-hour drive to Connelly Springs, we hung around outside for a little while talking with Mark (fresh off the Tin Man Benefit Run just a few weeks ago) before heading in through the side event entrance and making the rounds.

First stop was Big Nick Calo - we got to try his new Huckleberry Blues Moonshine, which had a nice tart huckleberry flavor but still went down smooth, and spent a little while talking with Nick before moving on.

Fun Fact: You can mix Nick's Huckleberry Blues with his Peanut Butter Banana and it makes a great Peanut Butter & Jelly flavor! 😂

Next up was Tater Mcclure’s table, where Beth was helping pour tasters of his new Watermelon Jalapeño Moonshine - Beth probably described that one better than anybody could:

“Sweet, and just spicy enough to not make you go ‘what the f**k!?’” 🤣

Accurate.

From there, we moved over to JB Rader’s table and tried the new Apple Blast Moonshine, and... That one definitely lives up to the name - the apple flavor hits you right up front!

We hung out for a while with Kenny Taylor and Bill Foster, while also running into Jeremy Stewart (of the Hustle Highway podcast), Shiner PinkyToe, and Matt Terrell among others.

Kris Fortner, from Flaming Aces Distillery, stopped by to say hi - which was a nice reminder of just how much this whole community tends to show up for each other.

Unfortunately, we managed to miss the Hillbilly Pickers - Lillie Setzer and Timmy - while we were there. Sorry! 😅

Before we left, we picked up our signed jars, hung around a little longer, and then pointed the truck back toward Tennessee for another 4-hour drive home.

Big thanks to South Mountain owner Don Smith for putting together another great event, Ray Hudson for the live music, and all the staff, friends, and family who helped keep everything moving throughout the day.

It was good seeing everybody again, trying all three new jars, and spending a little time at South Mountain without having to wait until the next festival to run into the crew. 🍻

Home safe after a long, fun South Mountain day. 😄Here’s Big Beard, Kenny Taylor, and Bill Foster doin' a tasting of JB R...
09/12/2026

Home safe after a long, fun South Mountain day. 😄

Here’s Big Beard, Kenny Taylor, and Bill Foster doin' a tasting of JB Rader’s new Apple Blast Moonshine earlier today! 😂

We’ve got plenty more pictures to go through, but for now...we made it home safe after the 4-hour drive through all the rain, and we had a damn good time at the event. 🥳

Full event write-up and pictures should be coming tomorrow!

09/12/2026

Grabbin' our jars from Big Nick Calo, Tater Mcclure, and JB at South Mountain Distilling! 😁

09/12/2026

4-hours until we're at South Mountain! 🥳

Instead of running into the South Mountain crew somewhere else, tomorrow morning we’re takin' a 4-hour drive straight to...
09/11/2026

Instead of running into the South Mountain crew somewhere else, tomorrow morning we’re takin' a 4-hour drive straight to South Mountain Distilling. 😄

These pics are all from Hillbilly Jam this year, where we got to see JB Rader, Big Nick Calo, Tater Mcclure, and Beth again only a month after Popcorn Jam! 😂

Tomorrow, the whole South Mountain crew will be together again on their home turf:

🍎 JB Rader - Apple Blast Moonshine
🫐 Big Nick Calo - Huckleberry Blues Moonshine
🍉 Tater McClure - Watermelon Jalapeño Moonshine

The event runs from 10am to 5pm - we're hopin' to be there by 11am...traffic and road construction willing. 😅

See everybody at South Mountain! 🍻

With South Mountain’s Triple Moonshine Release Party coming up this Saturday, here’s one of our favorite recent pictures...
09/10/2026

With South Mountain’s Triple Moonshine Release Party coming up this Saturday, here’s one of our favorite recent pictures with JB Rader. 😄

These pictures are from this year’s Popcorn Jam, where we caught up with JB at the South Mountain Distilling booth, and...the first picture pretty well sums up how that went. 😂

Big Beard is looking at JB instead of the camera, JB is laughing, and Will somehow looks like he’s having a great time AND getting ready to fight somebody.

Shana (AKA Miss Kara Loveheart) managed to get a much more respectable picture with him. 😄

We got to spend a little more time hanging out with JB after Hillbilly Jam this year, too, which was a lot of fun.

This Saturday, JB will be back at South Mountain Distilling alongside Big Nick Calo and Tater Mcclure for the Triple Moonshine Release Party - with JB’s new Apple Blast Moonshine joining Big Nick’s Huckleberry Blues and Tater’s Watermelon Jalapeño.

It's a 4-hour drive for us, so we’ll be getting there sometime around 11am, but the whole event runs from 10am to 5pm - see everybody at South Mountain! 🍻

Keeping the South Mountain countdown going with one from March of last year - Will and Shana with Tater Mcclure and Beth...
09/09/2026

Keeping the South Mountain countdown going with one from March of last year - Will and Shana with Tater Mcclure and Beth at the Carolina Strong Hurricane Relief Benefit in Morganton, North Carolina. 😁

The benefit was held to help people in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene, with South Mountain Distilling and the Chesterfield Ruritan Club helping put the event together.

Tater was there that day, along with Big Nick Calo and JB Rader - so, basically, the whole South Mountain crew was in one place. 😂

Fast-forward to this Saturday, and all three of ’em will be together again at South Mountain Distilling - this time for the Triple Moonshine Release Party!

🍉 Tater - Watermelon Jalapeño
🫐 Big Nick - Huckleberry Blues
🍎 JB Rader - Apple Blast

It’s pretty cool seeing how many different events we’ve crossed paths with these guys at over the last few years...and we’re looking forward to addin' another one Saturday. 🥳

See everybody at South Mountain!

We’re headed back to South Mountain Distilling this Saturday, in Connelly Springs NC, for a TRIPLE Moonshine Release Par...
09/08/2026

We’re headed back to South Mountain Distilling this Saturday, in Connelly Springs NC, for a TRIPLE Moonshine Release Party! 🥳

Three moonshiners. Three new jars.

🍎 JB Rader - Apple Blast Moonshine
🫐 Big Nick Calo - Huckleberry Blues Moonshine
🍉 Benny Tater Mcclure - Watermelon Jalapeño Moonshine

South Mountain has been revealing the new flavors on their page over the last 24 hours, and all three will be part of Saturday’s release.

The picture here goes way back to November of 2023, during Big Nick’s original Peanut Butter Banana release at South Mountain.

See everybody Saturday, September 12th (between 10am and 5pm), for live music, smoked BBQ and wings, and three new jars waitin' on us! 🍻

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1027 Malcolm Blvd
Wilmington, OH
28612

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