Environmental & Social Sustainability
At Still Hollow, environmental and social responsibility runs in our veins. Our distillery is built on the foundation of sustainability passed down from traditional Appalachian moonshine processes.
Since before the whiskey rebellion and the prohibition of alcohol, WV farmers would produce whiskey from their crops and sell it for cash in the big city.
It was impractical to transport grain from the hollows to the city for sale, and WV is not known for its vast croplands, so turning the crop into whiskey was a practical means to generate cash income for small farmers. Then the prohibition of alcohol destroyed the diversity of small legal Appalachian distilleries.
Despite this persecution, the moonshining tradition has thrived in the mountains and local knowledge still produces fine spirits. We aim to continue this tradition, growing our own WV heirloom corn and supporting local farmers with top dollar for their grains, while filling bottles with one-of-a-kind mountain whiskey.
The combination of traditional techniques, heirloom grains and mountain spring water makes our spirits unique. As fifth generation West Virginians we are proud of our product and our home state. We strive to use our land and resources as efficiently as possible and support our local farming economy.
The Still Hollow distillery is located on the Job Farm, in Job, WV. Bloody Butcher corn is grown onsite, with help from the whole family. We will utilize our crop to make our “mash,” then afterward feed the spent mash to our cattle, who naturally fertilize our soil and provide us with great beef—a perfect nutrient cycle.
Renewable Energy
In partnership with the USDA Rural Energy for Agriculture Program, we installed a 10kW solar array along our southern roof. Installed by local contractor PIMBY, this setup produces electricity and reduces summer heat absorption.
No Waste
All our fermented grain by-products are used by local farms for compost and livestock feed.
Water Reuse
Distilling requires the use of ample amounts of cold water to cool the column, condensing alcohol vapor back to a liquid. We capture the cooling water after it has been heated by the still and use it for cooking our next batch of grain. This reduces water consumption by 160 gallons per batch & reduces mash heating needs by 75%. Cooling water not used for mashing is used for cleaning and crop irrigation.
Local Economy
Our focus is on supporting the local economy from construction materials and labor to our website and T-shirts to our corn and malt sourcing.
We are proud to work with many great local companies.
Special thanks to: Red Creek Construction, PIMBY, Appalachian Dirt, Fairfax Materials, Allegheny Welding, Mountain Metal Fabricators, Verglas Media, Mr Jeff of Stumptown Ales, East West Printing, VC2, KISRA, Huffman Excavation, Farmer Rhonda & Spring Creek Farms.
Local Materials
Use of local and repurposed materials reduces transportations costs, prevents landfill waste, and stimulates the local economy.
Our distillery was built using local wood materials wherever possible to celebrate the great forest resources and lumber industry of our area. Interior paneling of red elm, wormy maple, tulip poplar and eastern red cedar came from the Tanner Lumber sawmill in Norton. The hemlock posts and live edge siding were cut and milled at a neighboring farm. Ash posts and the black walnut bar slabs were cut directly on site.
Other materials were sourced as extras from local construction sites preventing landfill waste. We used hemlock siding, oak battens, structural beams, shingles, doors, fasteners and more that were leftover from other jobs.
Better Ingredients. Better Spirits
Corn
Pure spring water is mixed with heirloom West Virginia bloody butcher corn to make our corn whiskey.
We have sourced our Bloody Butcher corn from a family farm that has grown the same seed for 200 years in WV. Some people say the corn doesn’t matter, but we challenge you to try grits from our farm compared to standard field corn and taste the difference! We store our corn on the cob & shell immediately before mashing to preserve the freshness. Not all of our corn and grain growers are certified organic, but we have written assurance from our growers that they are all natural growers and use no pesticides or herbicides on their crops. For small family farmers, organic certification can be an expensive step to take.
Water
History tells that the first pioneers to the area settled near a fine limestone spring at the mouth of the Stink Run Valley. We follow in these footsteps, using this gorgeous limestone spring water for our spirits.
Malt
Other Ingredients
We source all botanicals and fruits from local natural harvested sources or USDA organic purveyors.
We use only organic yeast, yeast nutrients and enzymes in our distilling process
