Posted on 07/18/2010 11:43:25 AM PDT by Stayfrosty
A growing number of Americans are thought to be getting involved in moonshining - distilling illegal liquor. Traditionally hidden in the backwoods, stills are now going into production in cities across the nation, as Claire Prentice reports from New York.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Nothing like Yankee ingenuity. Someone gave me a couple shots of moonshine once. It was the best liqueur I ever had.
So, when govt. raises liquor taxes to raise revenues, the users begin to stop buying the govt. sponsored liquor. But they don't stop using. They just go to the underground market.
So, high taxes open opportunities for entreneurship in the manufacture of booze. Not unlike the Thirties.
When I was a teenager, I got a drink of moonshine. The burning sensation down my throat made me think that I had been poisoned.
As a teenager, you probably guzzled it. One sips moonshine, sir :-)
I musta had a better moonshiner cause it didn't burn at all but had a kick like a Clydesdale.
Our Majag's a working still.
For those inclined, some good pointers on modern distilling.
It ain’t backwoods hillbilly stuff!
http://www.expats.org.uk/features/alcohol/theblueflame.html
The wide array of “home brew” shops in many college towns and “green living” communities for which shopping local and self sufficiency are prized has also resulted in a huge number of young people learning to home brew and make moonshine. This has likely led to far more moonshine making in cities, because college graduates have the skills, not just kids of illegal moonshiners.
I don’t drink alcohol but I might have to get into the biz. I’m gonna need a moonshining name. Any suggestions?
It’s still the easiest way to get corn to the market without it spoiling!
Today’s moonshine is not the same stuff Great Grand Pappy was runnin’ from the revenoors...
Stills today are quite sophisticated as are the condensers that used to be made out of truck radiators (soldered with lead of course) which is what made old fashioned moonshine so risky.
They say it ain’t no good unless it smokes when you pull the cork, and if it smokes too much it’ll kill you dead...
Available in NYC, I’m told it’s produced down south. Quality varies. My great uncle was a moonshiner.
Available in NYC, I’m told it’s produced down south. Quality varies. My great uncle was a moonshiner.
Just because it burns deep blue when you set if afire doesn't mean it's pure, either.
OTOH, I have had some from relatively new stills (also generally located in the backwood hollers) with higher quality equipment. The taste is always smoother, and the buzz is outstanding. The aftereffects, however, are generally the same despite the batch. Have some ibuprofen handy.
“used to be made out of truck radiators (soldered with lead of course) which is what made old fashioned moonshine so risky”
-no shiner worthy of the name would do such a thing.
Tried it my first and only time as a teenager. Make Tequilla taste like kool aid.
Sounds almost as good as “Granny’s (Clampett) Moonshine.”
Keep it simple: small batches only, use only new copper for your equipment, and always filter the product. Hold a good bead all day long, and not a headache in a carload.
A tribute to POPCORN Sutton.....RIP
http://smokeymountainbreakdown.blogspot.com/2007/04/popcorn-sutton-done-been-lawed.html
I’m half tempted to get my own still and brew my own white lightning.
I think that Jack Hydrazine is just perfect. Call your shine Jack’s Rocket fuel!
McMoonshine
A/K/A “Rheumatiz’ Medicine”. I’m surprised nobody has slapped a pic of Irene Ryan on a commercial corn whiskey label - yet.
The “new” way to produce nearly pure ethanol fit for human consumption or motor fuel is with a translucent (so you can see inside without opening it) plastic food grade bucket with lid, fitted with a plastic stopcock drain, electrical cord passthrough grommet, an internal plastic mash bin on a stand, and a low wattage fish tank immersion heater. The alcohol collects on the walls of the bucket, is produced at low heat resulting in a high quality water-clear impurity-free product, and can be left unattended for days at a time without fear of exploding or similar dangers of conventional stills. The “mash” itself can be a simple sugar water solution with optional yeast nutrient, fermented for a few days with “turbo” yeast that gives a high yield (~18%) in a short amount of time. The days of messy copper condensors, cooling water, open flames etc are gone.
As long as its adults, who cares?
Oh the IRS!
A local dairy farmer nearby used to make “corn.” Sadly, for me anyway, he moved away years ago. Best liquor I have ever tasted. He had a real talent!
I come from a moonshining family near the moonshine capital of the world: Franklin Co., Virginia. I've never heard anybody call moonshine "good." You certainly have peculiar tastes.
Hydrazine Hooch!
Back when I was a drinker, I mostly drank straight tequila, followed by an occasional beer. Sounds like you have more experience than me, but I thought it was great.
“I come from a moonshining family near the moonshine capital of the world: Franklin Co., Virginia. I’ve never heard anybody call moonshine “good.” You certainly have peculiar tastes.”
Then you need to find your folks a better recipe. Plenty of folks in Franklin Co. know how to make good moonshine. That’s why it’s the moonshine capital of the world.
“I don’t drink alcohol but I might have to get into the biz. I’m gonna need a moonshining name. Any suggestions?”
I think your screen name is a perfect moonshine name, as in: “Jack Hydrazine’s Corn Liquor and Rocket-Fuel Distillery”
White Lightning by George Jones
Well in North Carolina, way back in the hills
Me and my old pappy had a hand in a still
We brewed white lightnin’ ‘til the sun went down
Then he’d fill him a jug and he’d pass it around
Mighty, mighty pleasin, pappy’s corn squeezin’
Whshhhoooh . . . white lightnin’
Chorus:
Well the “G” men, “T” men, revenuers, too
Searchin’ for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
But my pappy kept a-cookin’
Whshhhoooh . . . white lightnin’
-— Instrumental -—
Well I asked my old pappy why he called his brew
White lightnin’ ‘stead of mountain dew
I took a little sip and right away I knew
As my eyes bugged out and my face turned blue
Lightnin’ started flashin’ and thunder started crashin’
Shhhoooh . . . white lightnin’
Chorus:
Well the “G” men, “T” men, revenuers, too
Searchin’ for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
but my pappy kept a-cookin’
Whshhhoooh . . . white lightnin’
Well a city slicker came and he said “I’m tough”
I think I wanna taste that powerful stuff
He took one g-g-glug and drank it right down
And I heard him a moaning as he hit the ground
Mighty, mighty pleasin, pappy’s corn squeezin’
Whshhhoooh . . . white lightnin’
Chorus:
Well the “G” men, “T” men, revenuers, too
Searchin’ for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
but my pappy kept a-cookin’
Whshhhoooh . . . white lightnin’...
Jack, just namin’ it Hydrazine would confuse the revenue men!
“What do you mean “Moonshine? This here’s rocket fuel!”
LOL no wonder you thought it was smooth. I've never been a hard liquor drinker.
The only time I'll drink some 'shine is when I see somebody pull out a Mason jar at a party with "strawberries" in it.
It's basically a bunch of strawberries (usually) that have been soaking in the liquor. I'll have one or two strawberries, that's it.
Seriously though, it’s easier for a teenager to score a bag of pot than it is for them to get alcohol, and that just isn’t right. I hope this will help right that wrong.
That was years ago when my dad and his brothers made the shine. They're all dead now, except for the one that was kicked out of the state of VA (for moonshining) and has lived in CA for the past 35 + yrs.
It could be the smoothest liquor on the planet and I probably wouldn't like it. I've never liked the taste of liquor. It's just too strong for me. I'm a beer kinda guy.
Great article on the subject, from a high class Southern lifestyle magazine: http://gardenandgun.com/article/moonshine
With a high enough alcohol content it technically could be used as a rocket fuel. Just at LOX and you are all ready to go to the Moon!
Try "Bobby Jo" or "Billie Jo" or any name ending in "Jo"........."Bubba" is a good name too.
“A growing number of Americans are thought to be getting involved in moonshining”
Good. There’s hope for the future then.
Heck no. A good shiner would use copper coils, not used radiators.
Had my one and only experience with moonshine while in the Navy. That was enough to make me a lifelong non-moonshine user.
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