Review: Sugarlands Eggo Blueberry Waffle Moonshine
Review: Sugarlands Eggo Blueberry Waffle Moonshine
Located along the main strip in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Sugarlands Distilling Company opened its flagship distillery in March 2014. Serious whiskey drinkers may know the company for the straight rye whiskey released under its Roaming Man label, but among the crowds that pass through its doors each year, Sugarlands is best known for an extensive lineup of flavored moonshines.
In recent years, the distillery has looked beyond traditional flavor profiles in search of its next attention-grabbing release. That pursuit led to a partnership with Eggo, the longtime frozen waffle brand that has occupied American freezers for generations. The collaboration began in October 2022 with Eggo Nog Appalachian Sippin’ Cream Liqueur. A second release followed in August 2023 with Eggo Brunch in a Jar: Waffles and Syrup Cream Liqueur. The partnership returned once again in May 2026 with its third installment, Sugarlands Shine Blueberry Waffle Moonshine.
The timing was no coincidence. Sugarlands released the blueberry-themed moonshine alongside the June 2026 nationwide rollout of Eggo Zero Blueberry Waffles, a sugar-free breakfast offering. The moonshine itself starts with a grain neutral spirit, essentially vodka, flavored with natural ingredients and tinted with caramel color and butterfly pea flower extract.
These breakfast-inspired collaborations are clearly aimed at tapping into consumers’ memories of a product that has become an American breakfast fixture. Eggo waffles experienced a major sales surge during 2017 and 2018, driven in large part by the popularity of Netflix’s Stranger Things, whose central character’s obsession with the product introduced it to a new generation. Not coincidentally, the Sugarlands-Eggo partnership arrived while enthusiasm surrounding the series remained exceptionally high.
After all, who among us hasn’t eaten an Eggo waffle at some point?
While many consumers will see a blueberry waffle moonshine and immediately think of a favorite breakfast item, there is, for elder millennials in particular, a rather large blue elephant standing in the corner of the room.
Most people encountering the phrase “blueberry waffle” will naturally associate it with blueberry pancakes, blueberry crepes, or blueberry French toast. Yet a sizable percentage of millennials who spent any amount of time online during the late 2000s and early 2010s may find their minds heading somewhere entirely different: the legendary and mythical “blue waffle.”
My involvement with distilled spirits provides a modest secondary income, but my primary profession since early 2014 has been in the field of sexual health. Over the years, I have given numerous presentations to middle school and high school students covering topics related to sexual health and hygiene. During those sessions, I encourage students to ask whatever questions they may have so they can make informed decisions based on accurate information.
Without fail, one question always surfaced.
“Is the blue waffle real?”
The first time a student asked me that question, I was still blissfully unaware of what they were talking about, so I did what many people would have done: I searched for it online.
If any readers remain unfamiliar with blue waffle all these years later, proceed with caution and be mindful of your surroundings before conducting that search yourself.
The blue waffle was a notorious internet hoax that circulated for years, falsely presented as a grotesque sexually transmitted infection. Entirely fabricated, it spread aggressively across message boards and forums, often as bait designed to trick unsuspecting users into clicking a disturbing image. Think of it as that era’s version of a Rickroll, albeit one with considerably more psychological damage attached. The phenomenon became so widespread that Dr. Oz addressed it on television in 2011.
So while Sugarlands and Eggo are undoubtedly appealing to one form of childhood memory with a blueberry waffle moonshine, there is also a substantial segment of consumers for whom those two words may register very differently.
Which raises an interesting question: was the blue waffle myth ever discussed during marketing and product development meetings? Was it quietly acknowledged under a veil of plausible deniability, with everyone fully aware of the reaction the name might generate among millennials?
I don’t have the answer to that question.
What I do have is a bottle of moonshine sitting in front of me.
So let’s get to the actual moonshine. After all this talk of internet legends, hoaxes, and Rickrolls, there’s really only one thing left to determine. Is this a moonshine I’m never gonna give up? Is it never gonna let you down?
Sugarlands Eggo Blueberry Waffle Moonshine Review
As expected from a blueberry-themed spirit, the color lands in dark blue territory, right at the edge of purple. The nose opens exactly where one might expect. A freshly opened tub of Country Crock margarine arrives first, followed almost immediately by a dense blueberry syrup note. This presents more like a concentrated topping than fresh blueberries scattered across a waffle or folded into the batter. Given a little time, waffles make an appearance, though they register closer to room-temperature waffles that have been sitting out for a while, perhaps even slightly soggy.
The palate stays firmly focused on blueberry. Unlike the syrup-forward profile found on the nose, the fruit shifts toward blueberry yogurt. As that note fades, vanilla Tootsie Rolls step forward. The mouthfeel is dense and somewhat syrupy, a quality reinforced by the fact that my fingers remained sticky after spilling a small amount while pouring it into a Glencairn glass.
Blueberry retreats considerably on the finish, allowing a modest waffle note to surface. It never becomes a dominant feature, and the finish itself is relatively short.
Those accustomed to sipping spirits that offer greater variation from start to finish will find this release overly sweet and largely centered on a single flavor profile. Then again, complexity was never the objective. Sugarlands and Eggo set out to create a moonshine built around blueberry, butter, and waffles, and they accomplished exactly that.
For drinkers who regularly seek out flavored moonshines, the sweetness and density are not drawbacks. They are part of the appeal. Millennials looking to revisit memories of the early 2010s and share the experience with friends will likely find that this bottle lands squarely within its intended lane.
While it is not something I would choose to sip neat, it can serve as an interesting cocktail ingredient. In a Blueberry Waffle Sour, fresh lemon juice helps rein in the sweetness. It also performs well in a Breakfast Mule, where ginger beer and a squeeze of lime provide contrast through spice and acidity.
60 proof.
C / $22
Sugarlands Eggo Blueberry Waffle Moonshine
USD22
