Ole Smoky Distilleries most visited in the world with over 5.7M guests in 2021

Ole Smoky Mountain Distilleries welcomed more visitors in 2021 than any other distillery in the world.

The four Ole Smoky Tennessee distilleries welcomed more than 5.7 million visitors seeing more than one million more than last year’s count at 4.5 million visitors, according to a spokesperson.

Visitations per distillery in 2021:

    The Holler in Gatlinburg - 2.6 million

    The Barrelhouse in Gatlinburg - 1.1 million

    The Barn in Pigeon Forge - 1.3 million

    6th & Peabody in Nashville - 0.7 million

“In 2021, Ole Smoky Distillery saw significant brand growth and more than one million additional visitors experiencing our four distilleries in Tennessee. We are proud that each year more and more people visit our distilleries to try our growing variety of quality moonshine and whiskey products,” said Robert Hall, CEO, Ole Smoky Distillery. “We know that part of the increase in visitors came from our regional drive markets, as more people took to the roads last year. We are also fortunate to be in Gatlinburg, a family-friendly destination that hosted more visitors at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more than 14 million, as well as other new local attractions. East Tennessee truly became a more desirable travel location for so many this past year.”

For comparison, as the largest craft distiller in the United States, Ole Smoky reportedly welcomed more than twice as many visitors as all of Scotland’s distilleries combined. It also entertained more than triple the amount of visitors than the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

“According to the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), Scotland’s 134 whiskey distilleries saw 2.2 million visitors in 2021,” a spokesperson shared. “Ole Smoky’s 5.7 million visitors is more than triple the 1.7 million people who visit all of the distilleries combined on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail each year.”

Ole Smoky Distillery locations offer crafted moonshine, whiskeys and featured tastings every day of the week. According to Nielsen, Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine is the most selling moonshine brand globally, with its market share being over four times the nearest competitor.

Check out the official Ole Smoky website if interested in experiencing self-guided tours, moonshine and whiskey tasting, live music and/or large retail stores at the East Tennessee staple.

Source: WVLT, by Paige Hill

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org

 

Published January 25, 2022