News Release
Published: March 26, 2008

Read the news release below from Piedmont Distillers:

Piedmont Distillers and NASCAR legend Junior Johnson have joined forces and introduced the company’s second moonshine product, Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon.  To support his product, Junior Johnson will make a personal appearance in Martinsville, VA during the upcoming race weekend.  He will be meeting with fans and autographing bottles of Midnight Moon.  Johnson’s appearance schedule is as follows: 

Friday March 28th Martinsville
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

VA ABC Store #132 (4960 Greensboro Rd., Martinsville, VA 24112)

Johnson is part owner of Piedmont Distillers, the only legal Distiller in North Carolina.  Johnson’s new brand, Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon, joins Piedmont Distillers first moonshine product Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine.  Both brands are available in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois, Virginia, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and can be specially ordered in Pennsylvania and Washington. 

“I am really proud to own part of this company,” Johnson said.  “I’ve done a lot of things in my life, and my history in the moonshine business is no secret.  Back in the old days, we learned to drive cars fast because we’d go to jail if we didn’t.  Now, I own part of a legal moonshine company that makes the best shine ever.  I’m no longer using pot stills down by the creek.  We triple distill the family recipe in a copper column still.  It’s smoother than vodka and better than whiskey.  It’s the shine I always wanted to make.”

“Having Junior as a partner in Piedmont Distillers has been great,” Joe Michalek, president of Piedmont Distillers said.  “He’s the real deal.  Not only is he an expert in making moonshine, but he really enjoys meeting his fans.  It has been awesome to see hundreds of people come to our store signings over the last several months.  People love Midnight Moon and keep coming back for more.  Junior’s truly a legend, not only in NASCAR but also in the moonshine trade.”

Like many of the other early stock car racers, Johnson grew-up tending to the family’s whiskey business.  He helped his father work the stills during the day and developed his incredible driving skills by running shine at night.  Johnson served 11 months of a two-year sentence and then later received a presidential pardon from Ronald Reagan for his 1956 moonshining conviction.

Junior combined his understanding of how to make a car run flat-out with his legendary driving skill to become one of the most successful drivers and owners in racing history.  As a NASCAR driver, Johnson won 50 races and 49 poles.  He is tied with Ned Jarrett for 10th place on the all-time victory list. 

After retiring from driving, the legendary driver became a legendary team owner.  His drivers won 139 races and six series championships.  Cale Yarborough won three straight titles for Johnson in 1976, ’77 and ’78.  Darrell Waltrip won the other three championships in 1981, ’82 and ’85.  Prior to their broadcasting careers, both Jeff Hammond of FOX Sports and Tim Brewer of ESPN won multiple championships as crew chiefs for Johnson. 

Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon follows the Johnson family’s generations-old tradition of making moonshine.  Every batch is born in an authentic, copper still and is hand-crafted, in small batches.  Midnight Moon is triple distilled to provide the highest-quality, premium moonshine available. 

Alternatively, Catdaddy is a flavored Moonshine with a hint of both sweet and spice; its secret recipe uses flavors that are not found in any other spirit.  Catdaddy is also hand-crafted and triple distilled in a copper still.  Distilled in the heart of the North Carolina by Piedmont Distillers, both brands celebrate the rich mythology and mystique of America’s moonshine history.

The Piedmont Distillers office and manufacturing facility are located in Madison, N.C., (population 2000) in the town’s former train station built in 1915.  Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine are the only legal Moonshines made in the only legal distillery in the Carolinas.  For more information on either brand, please visit http://www.piedmontdistillers.com.