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Four years ago, Joe Michalek was a New York state transplant with an old-time Southern dream: He wanted to sell moonshine.

He had spent years researching the idea, collecting recipes from backwoods moonshiners, working out the best formula. He opened Piedmont Distillers in Madison with one moonshine recipe culled from all that research.

Today, he remains the only legal moonshine maker in the state. His copper-column still now produces three liquors, including the original Catdaddy.

Junior Johnson became a partner in 2007, bringing with him a family recipe from the good ol’ days when boys became men hauling bootleg in fast cars.

Johnson took a shine to the racing more than the ’shine and ended up a NASCAR legend.

The small company continues to grow, from selling its products in three states that first year to 19 states today.

Earlier this month, Michalek, 41, installed what he calls a double-thumper still, which increased production capacity fourfold.

“We were having a hard time keeping up with the volume,” he says.

The company, which is run by six full-time employees, produces moonshine in 300-gallon batches.

Michalek credits the attention to each handcrafted batch, along with a distilling process that creates a smooth finish, for Piedmont Distillers’ success even in a down economy.

How much buzz has Carolina moonshine gotten?

The Grammy Awards came calling this year, making Catdaddy the only alcoholic beverage in the gift bags given to the presenters and performers.

“I think it got us on the radar for a lot of people out there, and it just took off from there,” says Sarah LeRoy, vice president of marketing for Piedmont Distillers.

This isn’t Prohibition-era moonshine, made in hidden pot stills that produced 100-plus proof liquor with more kick sometimes than flavor, Michalek says.

He won’t divulge the secret recipe for Catdaddy but says it was based on the old apple pie version popular among moonshiners.

Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon is a more traditional moonshine, but triple distilled into a smoother drink, Michalek says. Piedmont Distillers added Midnight Moon Lightning Lemonade in May.

From New Orleans to L.A., mixologists — bartenders to the rest of us — who are looking to make the next trendy drink find that Piedmont Distillers offers a unique ingredient, Michalek says.

His company recently added California to its shipments because of demand.

“They don’t just serve drinks,” Michalek says. “They make creations.”

In a nod to moonshine’s history in these parts, Piedmont Distillers sponsored the first Carolina ’ShineFest on Nov. 21-22. About 10,000 people attended, with some waiting more than an hour to tour the distillery, LeRoy says.

“We’re already talking about how to make it bigger and better next year,” Michalek says.

But don’t think moonshine still doesn’t get made on the sly today.

“It’s a shadow of what it once was, but it’s still a vibrant trade,” Michalek says. You can still see it served — often in Mason jars — at races and festivals across the state, he says.

After all, LeRoy says, North Carolina is the Moonshine Capital of the World.

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com