Joe Baker

Joe Baker loves the Smoky Mountains, his family, and tradition. From the moment that Joe was born, the Great Smoky Mountains have been his home. He and his family are in love with the mountains, with nature, and are appreciative of all that it has brought them.

Baker, like so many of us born in East Tennessee, grew up with stories of family moonshiners. The Baker family, after all, is from Sevier County, an area of East Tennessee where moonshining was a way of life. So, it comes naturally.

Despite his love of the outdoors and home, Baker went off to college at Georgetown University in D.C.  for his undergrad and returned home to the University of Tennessee to obtain a Law degree. He then stayed in Knoxville and began a successful law practice—but moonshining was still in his blood.

So, in 2009, when the State of Tennessee legalized moonshine, Baker decided to take one of his family traditions (and moonshine recipes) to the rest of the world. That decision took Ole Smoky Moonshine LLC from a family tradition to a company that now controls 40% of the moonshine market.

“For anybody on the outside looking in, it looks easy. It’s easy to see this as just a wildly successful business that anybody can do, but I think the more realistic assessment would be: ‘Damn, that’s hard, ’” says Baker.

Baker, his wife Jessi, and a small ownership group started Ole Smoky as quickly as they could following Tennessee’s legalization of moonshine. When they did, Baker says that they wanted to do it differently from most traditional distilleries. They wanted it to go hand-in-hand with the Smoky Mountains and focus on a “meet-n-greet” approach to grow their business.

This approach worked well with tourists, and seeing that the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited in the United States, that approach turned out amazingly. Ole Smoky has grown into a distillery that receives 4.5 million visitors a year…the most visited distillery in the U.S.!

For those who prefer more color in their whiskey, Ole Smoky also produces an award-winning bourbon. The Tennessee Straight bourbon is James Ownby Reserve, and is charcoal filtered using the Lincoln County Process, and aged in American virgin charred oak barrels. Ownby is a rich, warm, deep caramel, easy-sipping spirit with a distinctly southern soul. Perfect for a Renegade Old Fashioned, a Tennessee Gold Rush, or an Appalachian Smash.

“I was ready to be happy with growing the distribution into all 50 States,” Baker said. “I had no idea (our brands) would grow into 30 countries.”

Despite all the growth, including the business additions of Yee-Haw beer and the 2022 purchase of Ober Gatlinburg, Baker still loves playing second fiddle to the national park. And he’s okay with that.

When I interviewed Baker, now 51, he let me know that at the heart of all his business ventures are people and the communities in which they exist. From Jessi Baker, who, without Joe, says none of his successes would have been remotely possible, to the employees and customers at any of the sites where Ole Smoky is celebrated and sold, its people. They make Ole Smoky what it is today and what it will be in the future!

…And in case you’re wondering…Joe’s favorite moonshine? Apple Pie!