Bear Wallow Distillery

Photo courtesy of Bear Wallow Distillery (Facebook)

It was Susan and Mike Spagnuolo’s dream to open an artisan distillery in the tourist haven of Brown County. A dream that would have made them bootleggers without the recent change in Indiana’s restrictive alcohol laws.

Bear Wallow’s specialty is Hidden Holler Moonshine, an un-aged whiskey made from Indiana-grown grains sourced from local farmers. The moonshine is distilled in a 250-gallon copper pot and bottled on site. The distillery recently started selling flavored moonshines as well including apple pie, blackberry and peach. And next year, they'll begin opening the whiskeys and bourbons currently aging in barrels.

A big draw to Bear Wallow is their daily tours and tastings. They offer a “Farm-to-Fifth Tour” where visitors can learn the history of craft whiskey making, see the first legal still in Brown County, and follow the process from selecting the grains to the finished bottled product. Additionally, Bear Wallow offers Moonshine Shake-up cocktails in their Brown County Cabin Tasting Room.

The distillery is open Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. for tours and tastings.

You can purchase Bear Wallow’s products from their facility in Gnaw Bone or through their distributor Carroll Wine & Spirits. According to Bear Wallow all you have to do is ask your local liquor store if they would be willing to order some and put it on the shelf.