Third-generation Florida farmer Doug McCormack never set out to become a moonshiner - he became one because he had a blueberry problem. With an overabundance of organic blueberries on his family's Lake County farm, Doug partnered with a friend to experiment with winemaking, and those backyard experiments evolved into something much bigger. Today, Yalaha Bootlegging Company at Blue Bayou Farms is an award-winning craft distillery where Doug and his family distill small-batch moonshine, brandy, and rum using organic blueberries and cane sugar grown right on their farm. The McCormacks have been farming in Florida for nearly 150 years, and while Doug is the first in his family to officially make moonshine, he's building on generations of agricultural tradition.
This is a true family operation nestled in the countryside of Yalaha. When you visit, you're likely to meet Doug tending the farm, his wife Amanda, daughters Grace and Emily, or other McCormack family members working in the country store or baking homemade pies. Doug even fought to change Florida's antiquated distillery laws in Tallahassee, testifying before the legislature to allow distilleries to sell more than one bottle per customer per year. His award-winning spirits - including bronze medal-winning moonshine and Southern Pecan Moonshine - are crafted from fruit to glass and cane to glass, all distilled and bottled on-site at their farm just a short country drive from Orlando.