Ozarks’ distiller makes money making moonshine, whiskey and rum

I’ve always been fascinated by moonshiners.
My lust for illegal liquor goes back to the TV sitcoms of the 1960s and ’70s. I always liked “The Andy Griffith Show’s” moonshining florists — the Morrison sisters — and their potent “elixer” that Otis, the town drunk, so loved.
On “The Beverly Hillbillies,” Granny always had a jug of her “roomatiz medicine” ready to remedy anyone with a touch of consumption.

Jim Blansit, owner of Copper Run Distillery near Branson.

Even the feuding Appalachian clans, the Hatfields and McCoys, could agree on one thing: Moonshine, good. Revenuers, bad.
When I discovered a modern-day moonshiner had set up shop — and a 140 gallon copper pot still — about 10 miles north of Branson, it was a no-brainer for me to stop in, say “howdy” and sample a “snort,” as Granny Clampett used to say.
Jim Blansit owns and operates Copper Run Distillery, 1901 Day Road, in Walnut Shade, Mo. At Copper Run, Jim — with the help of his family — produces sour mash corn whiskey, molasses-based dark rum and traditional Ozarks moonshine, an un-aged version of his whiskey.
Jim isn’t a moonshiner — they made their illegal hooch at night, under shine of the moon, to escape the prying eyes of government agents. Jim’s operation is full-on legal, licensed by the state and he pays the taxes to prove it.
‘World class whiskey’
“My parents and brothers and sisters, everyone is pitching in to help,” Jim said as he showed me around the distillery he built on his family’s property.
A self-taught distiller, Jim started learning about fermentation while working at wineries and brewpubs.
“I worked in the beer brewing industry in the ’90s and for a couple different wineries,” he said. “When it comes to distilling, I’ve been practicing for the last couple of years.”
Open at 10 a.m. seven days a week, Jim said he loves it when guests drop in at Copper Run and check out the distillery.
“The people who come to see us are always a good time,” he said. “We really enjoy the visitors who come and sample and purchase our products.”
Jim’s place is the second distillery I’ve visited. I toured the Anchor Steam distillery in San Francisco last summer and was fascinated. Breweries I know, but distilleries are new to me.

Copper Run produces a sour mash corn whiskey, an aged dark rum and traditional moonshine.

“To make good whiskey you have to make good beer first,” Jim said as I sampled his corn liquor. “It’s 80 percent corn and 20 percent wheat.”
When Jim decided to get into the distilling business, he researched the techniques used by old-time distillers.
“I decided to go back and research the techniques from a couple of hundred of years ago,” Jim said. “I make whiskey way they used to make it before the prohibition recipes started being used.
To make his whiskey and moonshine, Jim uses locally grown corn and wheat. For his rum, molasses from Louisiana is imported. Jim said the Ozarks’ water makes his liquor special.
“Our water is ideal for making whiskey,” he said. “The calcium, magnesium, hardness of the water and the lack of iron makes a world class whiskey.”
Rum or shine
Processing the grain to make his whiskey is time consuming. Making his “Privateer” label rum is an easier job, he said.
“We ferment molasses until it’s about 10 percent alcohol and then we double distill it on our direct fire copper pot still,” Jim said.  “That type of still is very rare these days. Hardly anybody uses them anymore. The pot stills make the best quality. When I’m distilling it caramelizes some of those sugars and just creates superior rum.”

Jim had a 140 gallon copper still built to produce his whiskey, rum and moonshine.

Jim ages his rum in sherry barrels he gets from Stone Hill Winery in Branson. When the winery empties out a barrel for bottling they give him a call and he dashes over, picks it up and fills it with his rum for aging.  “It’s a fantastic relationship,” he said.
The charred oak barrels his whiskey ages in come from American Stave Company in Lebanon, Mo.  Jim’s moonshine is the fastest for him to produce, he said.
“We take the corn from the field and in two weeks we have it in the bottle,” he said.
Copper Run products are available in Springfield and Branson. Jim plans to expand into the Joplin area after the first of the year. Copper Run’s one-year aged whiskey and Privateer rum retail for $30. Copper Run Moonshine runs $22. Cheers!