Sometimes it seems that bars change hands in the blink of an eye. Such is the case for Moonshine Tavern, which replaced The Gin Mill on Boston Street in Canton. The owners of The Gin Mill closed down the bar in January after nearly 16 years of service in order to focus their attention on their full-time real estate work.
Less than a month later, Moonshine Tavern opened up and I got a chance to get to the bar last night. Thankfully, the layout remains pretty much the same with the dominating square-shaped bar in the center and exposed brick and chalkboards throughout. The booths by the window were replaced with high-top tables and the entrance to the back dining room is opened up.
Naturally, we wanted to check out the “moonshine” menu, which contains more than 20 concoctions of high-proof liquor infused with ingredients like brown sugar, cherries, and honey. For $18, you can get a moonshine sampler, pictured, with five shots to try.
We sampled the MBR Kentucky Black Dog and MBR Apple Pie (out of Pembroke, Kentucky). The Black Dog, at 90 proof, was a little too smoky for our taste, but scotch drinkers would like. The apple pie (a more modest 44 proof) was delicious with apple cider, brown sugar, and pie spice flavors.
Additionally, we tried the Ole Smoky Peach and Ole Smoky Blackberry (both 40 proof) out of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The peach was a little on the sweet side, but the blackberry infusion was perfectly tart. If you’re feeling adventurous, you could try High West Silver Oat, a 176-proof unaged oat whiskey out of Park City, Utah. We didn’t push our luck.
Of course, there is also a full menu of cocktails and draft and bottled beers. On-tap selections included Racer 5 IPA, Allagash White, and Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch. The food menu is distinctively New Orleans influenced and both the burger and catfish po’boy were excellent options.
All in all, we applaud the newest addition to Boston Street for thinking a bit outside the box. It’s nice to see a creative new place instead of another cookie-cutter establishment.