Hatfields, McCoys coming together for moonshine distillery in Gilbert, WV

The Hatfields & McCoys are collaborating on a new venture, a distilled spirits plant in Gilbert.

Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine sells directly from its distillery as well as through West Virginia liquor retailers.

The Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine distillery is family-owned and operated, with Nancy Hatfield, great-great- granddaughter of Devil Anse Hatfield, her daughter Amber Hatfield Bishop,  her son-in-law Chad Bishop who serves as the company's president and director of operations. Ronald McCoy serves as distillation consultant and representative of the McCoy family. Nancy previously owned Billie Ann's Restaurant in Gilbert and currently has Devil Anse Trailhouses for overnight visitors.

Nancy Hatfield said it's a project she's had in mind for some time, but only recently has the federal government permitted individuals and small companies to manufacture and sell distilled spirits. She said her father was a successful small business coal owner/operator "who lived a very interesting life."

"Like his father before him, my daddy bootlegged for years," she said. "It was our only income in the 1950s."

Chad Bishop said they'll produce a premium, 90-proof (45 percent alcohol by volume) hand-made, hand-bottled corn whiskey.

"Our moonshine is done the old fashioned way, one batch at a time by hand," he said. "It is even hand-labeled, hand-corked and sealed and hand-packed in our distillery.

"Obviously this process requires much more hands-on labor so it costs more to produce. But unlike many moonshine companies, we do not import or buy our moonshine from outside sources and then put our label on it. Our shine is made right here in West Virginia so the taste remains consistent."

The distillery currently has two products for sale: premium moonshine and, for a limited time only, a Holiday Gift Set which contains a bottle of  premium moonshine and a custom Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine flask. 

The Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine distillery on James Avenue in Gilbert is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and with limited Saturday hours.