From Franklin County’s bootlegging roots during the Prohibition era of the 1920s to modern-day depictions on the big screen, there’s nothing watered down about the wettest county in the world.
At Roosters Rise -N-Shine Distillery, we honor our history as we forge ahead to our future. Our ancestors have called Franklin County home dating as far back as 1823. To pay tribute to our roots, we chose a photo of our family homeplace in the Callaway mountains to be the background design on our bottle labels.
Roosters Rise -N- Shine Distillery is named for our current family patriarch, Ronald “Rooster” Hodges. Rooster’s been up and down and all around these hills his whole life. He’ll tell you enough personal bootlegger stories to prove that they don’t call Franklin County the Moonshine Capital of the World for nothing.
Here at Roosters Rise -N- Shine Distillery, we begin with an authentic moonshine recipe provided by Franklin County native “Rooster” Hodges, the patriarch of our family. In our Westlake tasting room, we flavor the base recipe with choices from maple whiskey to peach to vodka to apple pie. Pride in Southern flavor flows through every ounce.
In May 2021, we opened our tasting room to the public right here in Franklin County at Smith Mountain Lake. You can sample some of our flavored shine — up to 3 oz. per visit — at 96 Builders Pride Dr., Hardy, VA, in Westlake Towne Center.
We’ll put our flavored selections up against anyone’s — and we guarantee that your taste buds will be happy. If you discover a flavor you just can’t get enough of, we sell our moonshine by the bottle so you can enjoy it at home.