They called it the ‘End of the Line’. For over a century, Brushy Mountain prison held some of the most violent murderers, rapists and serial killers in the country. If you wore out your welcome at another prison or your crime was among the most unspeakable committed, this was where you ended up. And once you walked through the doors, almost no one walked out. 

Located in the remote hills of Eastern Tennessee, the prison was closed in 2009. But the ghosts of the brutality that was committed there still remain. Today, the grounds hold the world’s first (legal) prison whisky distillery, and without a doubt the scariest and most ingeniously located. Because after touring the prison, there’s only one thing you need: a large shot of their specialty – ‘End of the Line Moonshine’. 

This immersive episode, recorded on location in the prison itself, will take you from the cell blocks, where conditions were said to be worse than a Siberian labor camp, to the mines where prisoners were literally worked to death, and finally into ‘The Hole’ where inmates were kept in solitary confinement, in complete darkness, in a cell 4-ft wide and 8-ft long. 

“You think you can handle it,” one former inmate said. “Think again, son. Everyone breaks.”

FIND OUT MORE:

This scene was taken from a trip we did following the Tennessee Whisky Trail. If you like music and whisky, we highly recommend it tnwhiskytrail.com. 

Visit the prison and drink some excellent whisky at Brushy Mountain Distillery. Brushymtndistillery.com

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Armchair Explorer is produced by Armchair Productions. Aaron Millar wrote and presented the episode, Jason Paton did the field recording and production. Our theme music is by the artist Sweet Chap.

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