Discovery’s ‘Moonshiners’ Go Legit

Is moonshine still considered moonshine if it’s legal? Well, Tim Smith of the Discovery Channel reality series “Moonshiners” is about to find out as Prost Beverage Co. has licensed the rights to develop a legal version of his now infamous brew.

Smith has been making his illegal Climax Moonshine in the backwoods of Virginia (in a town called Climax) using a family recipe that includes corn, rye and barley malt mash and produces a 90-proof spirit.

The New York-based brand and innovation firm Beardwood&Co. has been tapped to help create differentiated line of flavors for the shelf version. 

“Authenticity was at the core of everything we did for the brand,” says Ryan Lynch, managing partner, Beardwood&Co. “We began by making Camo, Tim’s real-life dog, the brand’s mascot. A fixture at Tim’s still in the backwoods of Climax, Camo guards against intruders and lawmen and is the symbol of true loyalty.”

The label featuring Camo is applied slightly askew, capturing the handcrafted process of moonshining. Each cap will feature the Tim Smith Climax Moonshine monogram, also developed by Beardwood&Co. 

“We also developed custom, panoramic illustrations for the inside of each label that reveal different scenes from Tim’s world and include Camo, showing her at work with Tim and his legendary moonshining operation,” says Loren Clapp, design director, Beardwood&Co.