RAISE A TOAST TO SOUTHERN DIVINE DRINKS

When the European colonists first arrived in the American South, bringing with them their own special life-affirming drinks, they discovered a new ingredient to add to the mix – corn. They also found a way to outsmart and sometimes outrun the tax- and law-enforcing government agents, particularly during the Prohibition era, by producing the resulting 'moonshine' or 'white lightening ' in their own backyards, particularly if those backyards happened to be deep in the Appalachian Mountains.

It is fun to learn that you can now sample the potent brew at such places as the Shine Girl Distillery in Sevierville, Tennessee, which is owned by Dolly Parton's niece, Danielle, or at the Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine Distillery in mountainous Gilbert, West Virginia, its name was inspired by those of two famous feuding hillbilly families.

Kentucky, which produces 95 per cent of the world's bourbon, tempts you (and a designated driver) to visit at least one of the 18 distilleries along its Bourbon Trail; the Tennessee Whiskey Trail offers a choice of 30 possible stops; and Virginia, which has been producing wine since colonial times and now boasts more than 330 boutiques wineries, also claims it is America's Birthplace of Whiskey – you can visit the Mount Vernon Distillery, where George Washington was producing rye in pre-American Revolutionary days.

A number of other Southern states such as Missouri have thriving wine-producing regions as well as a vast number of breweries. Once again, Missouri comes to the forefront as home of St. Louis's visitor-welcoming Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

And then there are those fab cocktails to sample: New Orleans' signature Sazerac, Mint Juleps, Old Fashioneds, Whiskey Sours and more. And if you really want to try something different, check out the gin-based Corpse Reviver, which is served in a former coffin shop that is now part of North Carolina's Durham Distillery, or sweet potato vodka produced by the Delta Dirt Distillery in Helena, Arkansas.