A Devilishly Good Pairing: MoonPies, Ale‑8, and Small‑Town Secrets

michellebennington
51 minutes ago
5 min read

I just realized today that in the whole time I've been doing this blog, I haven't talked much about my first book Devil's Kiss. I've talked a lot about bourbon since the Small Batch series is set in the bourbon industry in Kentucky. But I haven't talked much about the sweeter side of the books---some of those sinfully sweet and yummy, purely Southern treats the heroine Rook Campbell turns to time and again to quench her emotional upheavals: MoonPies and Kentucky Spice soda (inspired by the real life Ale 8-One).

So let's dive in ....

A MoonPie and an Ale‑8‑One might look like a simple Southern snack combo, but their stories stretch back more than a century, shaped by coal camps, small‑town bottling lines, and the everyday rhythms of Appalachian and Kentucky life. They weren’t dreamed up by marketing teams or focus groups—they were born from real people, real work, and real needs.

The MoonPie’s story begins in 1917, when a

Chattanooga Bakery salesman named Earl

*I couldn't find a picture of the man himself but here's his headstone in Union Cemetery, Newport, Cocke County, Tennessee*

Mitchell was traveling through Kentucky coal country. I had no idea at the time of writing my story that the MoonPie had Kentucky roots. I just included them as one of Rook's favorite snacks because I remembered them from my childhood and college years. So I was pleasantly surprised when I started researching for this blog! At any rate, Mitchell struck up a conversation with a miner who joked that he wanted a snack “as big as the moon” to get him through long days underground.

The bakery took that request seriously and created a hefty sandwich of graham crackers, marshmallow filling, and a flavored coating in chocolate, banana, or vanilla—simple, sturdy, and filling enough to survive a lunch pail.

*MoonPie: graham cracker crust, marshmallow, and chocolate shell. A little bit like a s'mores without all the fire.*

It sold for just five cents, making it accessible to families living on tight budgets. By 1929, factory workers were boxing hundreds every day to keep up with demand. The MoonPie quickly became a Southern staple, often paired with RC Cola, and eventually grew into a symbol of comfort and nostalgia across the region.

(Left to right: Factory workers at MoonPie, the varieties of MoonPies, during WWII MoonPies were the quintessential comfort food for American soldiers (B&W photos from the Moon PIe website)

Crisp, cold, gingery, with a hint of citrus. Personal tip: don't drink from the plastic bottles; it's okay if that's all you can get, but the flavor pops best when it comes from the glass bottles or the aluminum cans.

However, I didn't consider RC Cola as a drink for my protagonist Rook. Rook was more complex and deserved a complex drink--a little sweet, a little spicy and crisp, just like her. Citrusy, gingery and delicious, Ale-8-One was born in Kentucky and is in fact one my personal favorite sodas (it also makes a good Kentucky Mule for those who like a little bourbon kick). Though these days, I have to drink the Zero version to keep my sugar in check. But it's just as tasty.

So while the MoonPIe was on the rise, in Winchester, Kentucky, another regional icon was taking shape. Ale‑8‑One debuted on July 13, 1926, created by bottler G.L. Wainscott, who had been in the soda business since 1902. Before Ale‑8 (as it's known regionally), he’d already developed Roxa‑Kola (named after his wife Roxanne) in 1906, a cola so successful it even drew legal attention from larger cola companies.

Wainscott traveled through Northern Europe, tasting ginger drinks and experimenting with his own blends when he returned home. After perfecting a crisp, lightly citrusy ginger ale, he held one of America’s earliest “name the product” contests. The winning entry—“A Late One”—became the playful name and logo: Ale‑8‑1, a pun on being the “latest” thing in soft drinks. Unlike national soda brands that expanded aggressively, Ale‑8 stayed rooted in Winchester, where it’s still bottled today and remains a point of Kentucky pride. The sodas now come in an array of delicious flavors: peach (so hard to find!), blackberry, cherry, orange cream, strawmelon and the native Kentucky fruit the pawpaw, sometimes called the Appalachian banana.

Put a MoonPie and an Ale‑8 together, and you get more than a snack—you get a snapshot of early 20th‑century Appalachian and Kentucky life that carries forward to this day.

One fed miners; the other refreshed farmers, factory workers, and families. Both were affordable, practical, and built to last. They became woven into the culture of the people who made them beloved, carrying with them a sense of home, comfort, and regional identity that still lingers today which is exactly why they were the perfect snack for my Small Batch Mysteries protagonist, Rook Campbell.

Dang...I'd love a MoonPie and an ice cold Ale-8 right now! (recipes below)

If you have a raging sweet tooth, you might want to try the MoonPie Cake from The Southern Plate which uses MoonPies, pudding, cool whip, banana slices, and caramel sauce. I've never tried it, but it sounds so rich and heavy that a little should go a long way.

Moon Pie Cake

This Moon Pie cake is a refrigerator cake with multiple layers: Moon Pies, vanilla pudding, caramel syrup, banana slices, and whipped topping.

Prep Time: 15minutes

Chill Time: 6 hours hrs

Servings: 12

Calories: 380kcal

Ingredients

8 Moon pies pick your favorite flavor
16 oz whipped topping one tub
5 oz vanilla pudding cook and serve
5 bananas
12 oz caramel syrup 1 bottle

Instructions

Cut 7-8 Moon Pies into four strips. Place the strips, cut side up, in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish or cake pan.
Prepare pudding according to package directions and pour it over the Moon Pies while still warm. Cover dish with foil and refrigerate until cold.
Top the Moon Pies with a generous drizzling of caramel sauce. Slice bananas on top, spread whipped topping over these, and then finish with another generous drizzling of caramel.
Chop up the remaining Moon Pie into bite-sized pieces and scatter pieces on top. Cover again and refrigerate until ready to serve (can serve immediately but gets better after an hour in the fridge).

Nutrition

Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9.5g | Sugar: 58g

Looking for a refreshing summer mocktail? Or are you planning a Derby event this year?You might try the Ale-8 Mock Mint Julep. Note: the traditional Mint Julep doesn't have lemon; it only contains bourbon, mint, sugar, and ice. Some variations include lemon to make a mint julep lemonade.

Mock Mint Julep Lemonade

4 mint sprigs

2 cups cold water

1.5 quarts Ale-8

1.5 cups of sugar

3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

lemon slices and mint sprig for garnish

Instructions

Rinse mint and discard stems. Place sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl. Stir and add mint leaves to the bowl. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. Fill a large pitcher with ice and add liquid over ice, gently stirring to combine. Add Ale-8 and lemon slices. Pour into tall glasses to serve and garnish with a sprig of mint. If you're serving on a hot day, consider frosting the glasses in the freezer first.

If you like a bit of a bourbon kick here's a recipe for a Kentucky Mule using Ale-8 (which you can get on Amazon if it's not in your area)