By ARABELLA SERRATA
Special to the PRESS
The Rio Grande Distillery and Brewery is set to debut a new moonshine, the Blues Jam McKinney Williams Moonshine, in honor of the blues singer. The drink will be presented to the public for the first time on
Nov. 30 from 7-10 p.m. at the distillery’s Release Party & Blues Jam.
According to Jerrod Leon Henry, owner and founder of the Rio Grande Distillery and Brewery, the new moonshine has been in the works for the last year and a half.
“It’s a tribute bottle to McKinney Williams Sr,” said Henry. Henry explained that the family surrounding the singer were moonshiners in Mississippi in the prohibition era.
The event will feature Williams’ son, McKinney Williams Jr., in his father’s stead. Williams Jr. will perform a “delta blues” concert, according to Henry. Local musician Nathan Hubble is also slated to perform.
Attendees can expect plenty of drinks and food.
According to the Trinity River Blues Society, Williams Jr. took up the blues genre after Williams Sr. suffered a stroke. Williams Jr. had already established himself in the hip-hop sphere and earned nominations for
his work across genres.
The moonshine was created in collaboration between the distillery and the Williams family.
“I think it’s great. I enjoyed working with them and what they wanted. We went through everything from making the moonshine to the label and the design and what we wanted on it,” said Henry.
While there were minor bumps on the road to completion, they came together and created a moonshine that both parties felt did the singer justice.
“It’ll be ready to hit the markets next month… We’re pretty excited about it,” said Henry.
The Blues Jam McKinney Williams Moonshine is “100 percent molten corn whiskey,” according to Henry. He noted that the Corn Liquor already available at the distillery contained barley, as opposed to the pure
molten corn that will be featured in the new moonshine.
Henry encourages interested parties to “just come by and have a good time… and come enjoy some delta blue music.”
The Rio Grande Distillery is at 110A N Garcia St, Port Isabel, Texas.
Comments