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Upstate company carries on moonshine tradition - legally
By Jay King
HOMETOWN NEWS
With the recent arrest of three men in Spartanburg County for operating an illegal moonshine still in the Landrum area, Upstate residents have been reminded that distilling spirits from corn is a longstanding tradition here dating back to colonial times.
It was in part to connect to that tradition and part taking advantage of a 2009 state law allowing micro distilleries that Greenville businessmen Joe Fenten and Richard Wenger began exploring the idea of starting a venture to build on that tradition more than 10 months ago. Thus Dark Corner Distillery was born.
Fenten and Wenger are electrical engineers by training, and both were on jobs in New York City when they began discussing ideas for a joint venture. As a “son of the Dark Corner” Fenten grew up on tales from the storied past of that corner of northern Greenville County long considered the focal point of white liquor manufacture dating back to the era of Prohibition and before.
“My passion is to bring the Dark Corner to Main Street,” Fenten said in an interview. “Virtually everyone who comes in here doesn’t realize that the Dark Corner is a real place.”
Fenten and Wenger were speaking at the 241-B N. Main Street location of their business in downtown Greenville. The business is about a month away from its grand opening pending the final approval of federal and state regulators.
For the rest of the story, read this week’s Inman Times.
Photo By Jay King
Greenville entrepreneurs Richard Wenger, l, and Joe Fenten are about to open the state’s first legal moonshine micro distillery in downtown Greenville. In producing the signature beverage of the storied corner of northern Greenville County known as the Dark Corner, the two aim to carry on a rich tradition rooted in the earliest history of the region and nation and also showcase the culture and crafts of the people of the upcountry of South Carolina.
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