Too out there for Chicago?

August 27, 1:21 AMChicago Drinks ExaminerCharles Cowdery

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Too out there for Chicago?

Last month, I told you about two new flavors of Georgia Moon corn whiskey. I said they were "out there," in that corn whiskey is considered on the fringe. Not many people drink it and it hasn't been a hot category for, I don't know, maybe 150 years.

But, all of a sudden, it's hot enough for Heaven Hill to launch two spin-offs in the completely new flavored corn whiskey category. Actually, the official government-approved label calls it a “Distilled Spirits Specialty—Corn Whiskey with Natural Flavors Added.” They contain natural fruit flavor and sweetener.

Sadly, Chicago isn't getting any.

This is no slight of Chicago, unless you want to take it that way. The local distributor just doesn't think it will sell here. The action in corn whiskey right now is in Virginia and North Carolina, where people are also buying Virginia Lightning, Catdaddy and Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon. These locally-produced corn whiskeys from small producers are selling in quantities that are making the majors take notice.

But that's a long way from here.

Binny's sells Virginia Lightning Corn Whiskey, made in Culpepper, Virginia, in case you're interested. It's about $15 a bottle. The regular Georgia Moon is sold there and elsewhere around Chicago, also for about $15 a bottle. It's just the new flavors that aren't available to corn-whiskey-crazed Chicagoans.

If you'd like to see Georgia Moon Peach and Georgia Moon Lemonade in Chicago, just let your local whiskey monger know. If enough people ask for something, it has a way of appearing. Trust me on this, it's not on allocation.