On Valentine’s Day in February, 2016, Stonehaus Winery of Crossville, Tenn., located on top of the state’s Cumberland Plateau, is introducing Aaron Tippin Country Jam, a new wine celebrating Tippin’s 25 years in the music industry as well as the winery’s 25^th year in business.

It is a “Barrel-Selected” blackberry wine, rather than a completely new wine, because Tippin preferred to select the Stonehaus Wine that resonated with him and one he felt would resonate the most with his many fans.

Before Stonehaus began producing its particular brand, the high mountain Tennessee blackberries have been used by hundreds of Volunteer State settlers for a homemade wine that was particularly effective in settling a queasy stomach.

In much the same way, small Indian peaches grown in backyards of Dark Corner’s early settlers were used for pickling and for a peach brandy that settled queasy stomachs or frayed nerves and provided solace for dozens of other real and imagined ailments.

After new varieties of peach trees were planted in small commercial orchards throughout the Corner and upper Spartanburg County in the late 1940’s, the making of peach brandy went well beyond the home variety. It became a best seller for those individuals who joined the luscious fruit with Dark Corner moonshine in clandestine operations.

To remain in operation, moonshiners must be able to stay one step ahead of revenuers who are constantly looking for illicit distilleries. It seems that stilling operations become known much quicker in modern times due to advances in communication and a distillery may be erected for only one or two runs before having to be dismantled and moved.

Such was the case in the late 1960s when my uncle, Carlos Plumley, and his friend, Lewis Gosnell, decided to set up a new distillery and to partner with Lawrence Hyder to make a large supply of good peach brandy.

Carlos, Lewis and others drove over to the Oak Grove area to find out when the peaches would be ready for mixing with their new run of moonshine.  During the trip, Carlos’ door came open. He fell and was dragged for a distance. He was not seriously hurt, but the handles of his 45-caliber pistol were worn down considerably.

When the peaches were ready, they were moved across the property where the distillery was set up. Beer was hauled to the operation in a large tank.

Suspecting that federal marshals had gotten wind of the planned operation, it was imperative that the mixing of fruit and moonshine be done quickly so that the distillery could be torn down before being raided.

Dismantling the distillery was an easy task, but what to do with the large number of filled jugs. Where could they be hidden?

Federal marshals did raid the operation site, but found only a pipe where the distillery had stood. There was no other sign of recent activity. They decided to return to home base with nothing to show for their foray into moonshine territory.

As they passed by a well-picked orchard on their way home, little did they suspect that the large number of filled jugs with newly made peach brandy was scattered among the terraces and weeds in the orchard.