The Legend of Hickory Joe and his Smokehouse Barbeque

There once was a man called Hickory Joe who lived in the back woods of Tennessee. He was known for making and selling illegal moonshine whiskey. He used wood from nearby hickory trees to heat the stills, making it nearly impossible for anyone to detect the scent of brewing sour mash. Anyone, near or far, who got a whiff of the distinct hickory aroma, figured he was brewing another batch of the coveted moonshine. His fondness for using hickory wood earned him his nickname Hickory Joe.

In 1927, during the Prohibition Era in the U.S., local authorities and Feds learned of Hickory Joe’s bootleg brew and raided his operation. Barrels full of his moonshine were seized. With his illegal operation abruptly halted, Hickory Joe was forced to find another lucrative business.

Back when he was making moonshine whiskey, Hickory Joe would often use the heat from his burning hickory wood to slow cook his dinners. He loved the way low heat and smoke flavored and tenderized his meats. This prompted him to try his hand in the smokehouse barbeque business. He experimented with different sauces and spice rubs which added rich flavor to his meats, much to the delight of his customers.

After years of trying different barbeque sauce recipes, Hickory Joe hit the jackpot with his 12th recipe. This Signature #12 BBQ Sauce would later earn him his fortune. Hickory Joe also hatched a plan to include his moonshine whiskey as an secret ingredient into his Tennessee Whiskey Barbeque Sauce. Customers from all over the country visited Hickory Joe’s Smokehouse BBQ. The slow cooked meats and secret sauces, combined with the lingering hickory scent, made for an incredible mouthwatering experience.

Hickory Joe never shared with anyone the recipes for his whiskey, spice rubs or barbeque sauces.

After his passing, the barbeque business closed down and the secret recipes were buried forever. As destiny would have it, and some say as Hickory Joe had planned all along, his kin folk found a collection of dusty whiskey bottles buried in one of his bootlegger warehouses. Inside the jars were notes believed to contain the secret recipes of Hickory Joe’s Smokehouse BBQ. His relatives sold the recipes for a small fortune with the promise that the recipes of Hickory Joe’s REAL barbeque be enjoyed by all again.

This is how the legend of Hickory Joe and his famous slow cooking barbeque lives on. Not much has changed from 1920’s Tennessee to Hickory Joe’s Smokehouse BBQ today. Stop in today, sit for a while, and enjoy the hickory wood smoked meats and the wonderful flavors of our Signature #12 Barbeque Sauce or the Tennessee Whiskey Barbeque Sauce.

In memory of Hickory Joe and his branded words, “Why Rush Good Eats?”