Does the nation’s moonshine crown belong in Virginia or North Carolina? Participants of an upcoming debate hope to answer that question.
It’s part of Martinsville’s Speed Week, an annual event that runs Thursday through Saturday at the city’s Speedway Service Center and leads up to Sunday’s Cook Out 400 race at the Martinsville Speedway.
This year’s event will feature a debate in which participants will argue in favor of Franklin County, Virginia or Wilkes County, North Carolina as the nation’s moonshine capital.
Both counties have rich histories when it comes to moonshine. Residents of both turned to moonshine production and distribution at the height of Prohibition. More than a century removed from Prohibition’s start, both Franklin and Wilkes counties are proud of their respective moonshine cultures. But only one can be crowned the moonshine capital.
Henry Law will argue in favor of Franklin County, while Troy Selberg will make the case for Wilkes County.
According to event organizer Danny Turner, Selberg was the reason he decided to put on the event, following comments Selberg made on his podcast, The Scene Vault.
“This Selberg guy … said that Wilkes County is the moonshine capital of the world, but he did not mention the state of Virginia,” Turner said. “So we called him and he agreed [that] we would have some fun with it.”
Both Selberg and Law have experience in producing and selling legal alcohol, and both are convinced that the counties they are representing deserve the title.
“In Wilkes County, North Carolina, the moonshiners would hot-rod their cars to get away from the law,” Selberg said, saying that Wilkes County distillers played a part in NASCAR’s creation via their moonshine operation.
Proof of this history was recently unearthed when a sinkhole at a Wilkes County speedway revealed what might be a long-rumored cave where moonshine was produced.
Selberg is part owner of Whiskey Tango Charlie, a business that offers whiskey tastings. Law comes from a long line of moonshine producers and keeps that tradition alive today. He believes that no other county could have kept up with Franklin County during the era of Prohibition.
“They said that at one time, if you took all the yeast and made bread from it and stacked them, end to end, it would reach Omaha,” Law said. “They also said there was only one place that used more sugar than Franklin County and that was Hershey, Pennsylvania.”
Both Law and Selberg said that their respective counties are an ideal natural setting for moonshine creation. Both tout the water and abundance of creeks of Franklin and Wilkes counties as making their moonshine superior over the other. Selberg believes North Carolina’s copious corn farms also give Wilkes the edge over Franklin.
“I think Wilkes County and Franklin County want it,” Selberg said. “Franklin County has a rich history of illegal moonshine, but if you live in Wilkes County, it, too, has a history of illegal moonshining. The question is, which one deserves to be the capital?”
Both hope to answer that question come 6 p.m. Thursday.
While Selberg believes he has the more convincing argument, Law believes the fact that the debate is taking place in Virginia and will be judged by current and former Virginia lawmakers will send him over the top. Judging the competition are former U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, state Sen. Bill Stanley and Dels. Eric Phillips and William Davis.
“I’m extremely confident,” Law said. “I’m very confident that I’ll win this.”
All Speed Week events, including the debate, are free and open to the public.
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