Goodtime Moonshine: 8 Brands Of Musician-Backed Booze

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Shirtless hillbillies, backyard stills, and Cletus from The Simpsons = things we normally associate with moonshine.

​Tuesday, representatives for Colt Ford announced the Georgia-born singer best known for 2010's Chicken and Biscuits would be the first country music star with his own signature line of moonshine and vodka under the brand name Goodtime. Ford's hooch is perfectly legal and became available in Georgia and Tennessee the next day.

Moonshine, eh? Rocks Off's first (and last) encounter with the stuff came compliments of one of Houston's most celebrated Greek-owned barbecue dynasties on a restaurant tour bus seven years ago. One of the owners produced a plastic jug filled with what he described as "bathtub ouzo" and dared us to take a swig. And, of course, we did.

Let's just say our experience was in line with that of Amy Poehler on a recent hooch-filled episode of Parks and Recreation: "I can't feel my face. My face is numb." So naturally, our first thought was how is it possible to put a product on the market that is, by definition, "an illegally distilled or smuggled liquor"?

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​According to Scott Studdard, Executive Sponsorship Director for Buddy Lee Attractions, it is in fact moonshine ("You could make it in your bathtub, but that would be illegal"), made with the same copper-stilled distillation process that does not include the wooden-barrel-aging period that produces the golden hue and mellowed flavor associated with whiskey.

Through a partnership with a licensed distillery, ensuring a product free from glycol, antifreeze, lead and other dangerous byproducts that have been found in backyard booze, Ford's brand was able to get the government go-ahead, even if it took more than a year. Whether or not Goodtime Moonshine will pass muster with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, notoriously one of the strictest in the land, has yet to be seen.

However, there are plenty of other musician-backed liquors already on the market in the Lone Star State, so if you're looking to party like a rock star with rock star-endorsed booze, we've listed some of your options below.

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​Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville Spirits

Buffett has an entire line of booze licensed under "Margaritaville Spirits" that includes both silver and gold tequila, four kinds of rum, and various varieties of drink mixes guaranteed to have you blowing out flip-flops and stepping on all sorts of shit. And no need to go searching for that lost shaker of salt - Buffett sells that too.

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Don't worry Willie, we won't ever let that river run dry.

​Willie Nelson, Old Whiskey River Bourbon

Inspired by his work with Farm Aid, Willie Nelson's whiskey only uses grain from independently owned family farms, and each bottle comes with an autographed guitar pick.

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Nice hat.

​Billy Gibbons, Pura Vida Tequila

At a product launch party earlier this year Rocks Off heartily sampled all four varieties of Pura Vida tequila (Gibbons is an investor in the company), and then proceeded to tell the ZZ Top front man that he was "better than God." The tequila was pretty good, too.