All About Little Chicago Moonshine

You might not know about Hartman Distilling (and not because they go by the name of Little Chicago Moonshine), no… you might not know about them because they are so tiny.  Owner Gary Hartman kept things small on purpose.  Don’t think that this is the type of place that strives to be the biggest distillery in Greater Cincinnati – think of it more as a labor of love, and a salute to a long-gone way of life in Hamilton.

Everything, starting from the name itself pays homage to the past and to the heritage of “crafting” moonshine.  Little Chicago pays homage to Hamilton Ohio’s prohibition-era nickname that it got from it’s… seedier side.  In fact, Gary’s Grandfather operated a grocery store on Symmes ave, and they happened to carry 50 pound bags of sugar there. What do you estimate one could do with a bag of sugar that big?  I doubt customers were making a metric ton of cookies.

If you yearn to snag a bottle of Little Chicago’s finest moonshine, your best bet is to take a drive out to Hamilton, it’s only available in a few choice spots around town!

The Little Chicago Moonshine Timeline

  • June 2016 – The distillery applied for its license
  • October 2018 – Little Chicago releases their second product, a lightly aged moonshine.
  • January 2020 – In a Facebook post the distillery announces that they are for sale.