Ole Smoky Distillery & 6th & Peabody: Nashville's Moonshine and Craft Beer Hub

What Is 6th & Peabody?

Ole Smoky Distillery's Nashville outpost, officially marketed as 6th & Peabody, is a 30,000-square-foot entertainment and production complex that combines a working distillery, a brewery, multiple bars, a retail shop, food vendors, and a large outdoor beer garden. It opened in May 2019 as a joint venture between Ole Smoky, which in 2010 became the first federally licensed moonshine distillery in Tennessee, and Yee-Haw Brewing Co., a Johnson City-based craft brewery. The result is less a single venue than a small compound, designed to hold up to 1,500 people for events.

The address puts it squarely in SoBro (South of Broadway), Nashville's convention and entertainment district just below the Broadway honky-tonk strip. That positioning is deliberate: 6th & Peabody catches visitors who want something beyond a bar stool on Lower Broad, while staying close enough to be a natural stop on any downtown evening.

The Distillery and What You Actually Taste

Ole Smoky built its identity on Tennessee moonshine, a clear, high-proof spirit rooted in Appalachian tradition. The original Gatlinburg distillery opened in 2010 as the first legally licensed moonshine operation in Tennessee’s history, a fact worth knowing because it reframes what you're drinking: this isn't novelty packaging, it's a commercial revival of a genuinely regional craft. The Nashville distillery produces and distributes moonshine and whiskey on-site, and the working equipment is visible from parts of the tasting area, which gives the space a grittier industrial character than a hotel cocktail bar.

The Regular Tasting ($10) covers moonshine and whiskey samples plus a Yee-Haw beer, and comes with a $10 coupon redeemable toward retail bottle purchases, meaning it effectively pays for itself if you plan to buy a bottle. The Premium Tasting ($13) adds three more samples. Both require valid ID confirming you're 21 or older; there are no exceptions and the staff enforce this consistently. Flavor-forward moonshines, including fruit-infused and seasonal varieties, tend to surprise visitors expecting something harsh. If you have a preference, ask the pouring staff before your tasting starts since available selections rotate.

The Beer Garden and Yee-Haw Brewing

Yee-Haw Brewing Co. contributes the other half of the experience. The Johnson City brewery, founded in 2014, produces a range of year-round and seasonal craft beers, and the Nashville location serves as both a taproom and a production facility. The outdoor beer garden is where most of the casual crowd settles, particularly from mid-afternoon onward. String lights overhead, communal tables, and lawn games give the space an approachable feel that skews younger without feeling exclusively college-crowd.

In warm months (roughly April through October), the beer garden is the social center of the complex. On cooler evenings, the indoor areas fill up faster and the energy concentrates near the bar and stage. Nashville summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly reaching the upper 80s Fahrenheit, so outdoor seating on a July afternoon is a different experience than the same spot in October when temperatures drop into the 60s. If you're heat-sensitive, plan an evening visit in summer or come on a weekday when the covered sections are less crowded.

Live Music: What to Expect and When

Live music is a regular feature at 6th & Peabody, consistent with Nashville's culture of treating performance as ambient rather than ticketed. Acts typically play in the evenings, and the lineup leans toward country, Americana, and rock. Specific schedules are posted on the official site and social media closer to each date, so checking before you arrive is advisable if music is your primary reason for coming.

The sound inside the complex is generally loud once live music starts, which makes conversation-heavy visits easier before 8 p.m. If you're looking for a quieter Nashville music experience, venues like the Listening Room Cafe or the Station Inn offer a seated, focused listening format. 6th & Peabody is more about atmosphere and volume than musicianship in the foreground.

How the Experience Changes by Time of Day

Arriving at 11 a.m. on a weekday feels almost like a different venue. The industrial interior is quiet enough to notice the distillery equipment, the staff are unhurried, and you can talk to the people behind the tasting bar without competing with background noise. The retail area is fully stocked and browsable. This is genuinely the best window for anyone interested in the craft side of the operation.

By 3 p.m. on a Friday, the post-lunch crowd has arrived and the beer garden starts filling. Weekends from 5 p.m. onward bring the largest groups, including a noticeable concentration of bachelorette parties, which is neither a recommendation nor a warning, just a predictable feature of any venue this close to Lower Broad on a Saturday. By 9 p.m. on a Wednesday through Sunday, the complex is operating near full capacity and the energy is more nightlife than distillery tour.

Getting There and Practical Details

The complex is located at 423 6th Avenue South, roughly a 10-minute walk from the heart of Lower Broadway. Most visitors coming from downtown Nashville hotels arrive on foot. Rideshare pickup and drop-off work smoothly on 6th Ave S outside the main entrance. If you're arriving by WeGo bus, check current routes on the WeGo Public Transit website since stops and schedules can change.

Parking in SoBro on weekend evenings is competitive. Several pay lots operate within a few blocks, but expect to pay a premium on Friday and Saturday nights. Driving is genuinely the least convenient option for most visitors staying downtown.

The complex includes large indoor and outdoor areas consistent with step-free access, and the open layout of the beer garden accommodates mobility aids without obvious obstacles. That said, the official site does not publish detailed accessibility specifications. Visitors with specific accessibility requirements should contact the venue directly at nash@osdistillery.com before visiting.

Hours run Monday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. If you're planning a broader evening in the area, the Nashville distillery tour guide covers how to combine multiple tastings in a single itinerary.

Is It Worth Your Time? An Honest Assessment

6th & Peabody works well as a social venue with a production story behind it. The free-entry model removes the pressure of a ticketed experience, the tasting price point is reasonable for downtown Nashville, and the combination of distillery, brewery, food, and outdoor space creates enough variety to keep a group entertained for several hours. It is not a deep educational experience in the way that a dedicated distillery tour might be, and it won't satisfy someone primarily interested in craft spirits education.

Visitors who want to understand Tennessee whiskey in a more structured setting might find the Country Music Hall of Fame area's broader SoBro context interesting alongside a visit here, or consider a day trip to the source. The Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg offers a proper production tour for those willing to make the drive.

Those who are likely to skip 6th & Peabody: visitors who don't drink alcohol (the non-alcoholic options are limited), travelers seeking quiet or intimate experiences, and anyone already saturated by the high-energy bar atmosphere of Lower Broadway. The complex is a deliberate amplification of that same energy, not an alternative to it.