On the way up for Kara's graduation, we finally stopped.
We pulled off the exit designated on the signs only to find out that the store was about 2 miles down the road, much farther than we'd normally venture. Since we were in no hurry we decided to go anyways.
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There were goats on the roof. Dozens of them, lined up along the porch space that had been built at near roof level. Their heads stuck out of the slats in the fence along the post, watching us park in the dirt lot and cross to the building.
As we neared the goat-covered building, a man emerged from the store wearing overalls and lit up a cigarette. I pretended to ignore him and headed for the goats instead. Eventually he approached us and struck up a conversation. Turns out he's an employee of Palmetto Moonshine. We fed the goats, both those on the ground and those on the roof. They had rigged a series of buckets on ropes which could be raised up to the roof. Although I was always a petting zoo fan growing up, I never realized that goats have weird slit-like pupils instead of round ones.
Our new friend explained that liquor distributors in the South used to keep goats on the roof so that men would have an excuse to visit the store without their wives finding out they had been drinking. Apparently, they would tell their wives that they were going to feed the goats and have an excuse to go buy alcohol. After filling us in on old tidbits, we all went inside to sample the wares.
The moonshine was so good. They had plain, blackberry, apple pie, and peach. The flavored ones are made by mixing Palmetto's plain moonshine with homemade fruit purees. While strong, the plain didn't burn or taste like rubbing alcohol. We ended up leaving with several jars of moonshine along with a dirty joke for the road from our new friend.
If you're ever driving on 85 in South Carolina, make sure to stop in at Palmetto Moonshine and feed the goats.
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