That means the moonshine you purchase at your local liquor store is legal and safe for responsible consumption. You might recall seeing pop culture references that depict moonshine in a jug marked XXX. By the time a batch was really finished, it ended up in a jug marked with a triple X. There was a lot of pride in operations that could put forth a quality spirit for their communities.
That sentiment lives on in many modern and now legally concocted moonshines enjoyed today and is forever cemented as a part of moonshine history.
Quick clarification: moonshiners make the liquor, bootleggers transport it. Of course, when cars entered the picture, its meaning was expanded to include anyone who smuggled liquor. As soldiers returned home armed with new mechanical skills following World War II , they quickly took on work in their communities as bootleggers. But what is moonshine and is it dangerous?
Moonshine is a generic slang term that refers to potently strong and illegally made alcoholic spirits. The word was first associated with bootleggers who were attempting to make and sell alcohol during the Prohibition era. In modern times, Moonshine is still used to describe illegal homemade alcohol, some certified distillers will often sell beverages that are described as moonshine for novelty value or to describe its stronger than usual taste.
Some moonshine producers will seek to offer reproductions of clear high-proof homemade alcohol from the Prohibition era. But moonshine can be used to describe anything that pertains to be strong, homemade and illicit - such as strong types of whiskey or "bathtub" gin. There are many reasons that governments choose to prevent its citizens from making their own alcohol. And, it's potentially very dangerous to make at home due to its ingredients, byproducts, and flammability.
Moonshine, also known as "hooch" or "homebrew," is made by fermenting a sugar source to produce ethanol. Traditionally, moonshine is made from a mash of corn and sugar. The alcohol is separated from the mash by a distillation process. One big difference between moonshine and other liquors like whiskey or bourbon is that moonshine is not aged.
Moonshine may conjure up stereotypical images of "country-folk" distilling and transporting their potent potables in jugs branded "XXX" during the middle of the night to avoid detection. What has changed is that now, the ability to buy commercially produced, all-copper moonshine stills on the internet has taken some of the danger out of the moonshine distilling process.
Despite this improvement, that does not mean that all moonshine is safe to drink. Plenty of moonshine continues to be brewed in stills made from automobile radiator parts and other dangerous materials.
Moonshine was once an important financial aspect of the Appalachian economy, providing a source of income in bad economic times and in areas where poverty was rampant. Like any good produced in the U. Moonshine experienced a deep lull when the U.
In recent years, moonshine seems to have had a resurgence. Now with the trend for higher prices at the liquor store, especially for imported spirits, moonshining has hit the spotlight again. In , a BBC investigation into moonshining in the United States found that as many as a million Americans were breaking the law by making moonshine. In the same year, Tennessee started selling legal hooch in big box stores like Walmart and Sam's Club.
On the internet, several websites offer stills made of all copper for sale, ranging from 1-gallon personal models to gallon commercial outfits. One seller claimed the demand for his copper stills doubled in recent years and that he had shipped stills to every state in the U. Illegal moonshine remains dangerous because it is mostly brewed in makeshift stills. It can be dangerous on two levels, both during the distilling process and when consuming it. The distilling process itself produces alcohol vapors, which are highly flammable.
The flammable vapors are one major reason why moonshine stills are almost always located outside, although it makes them easier to be spotted by law enforcement. The threat of vaporous explosions is too great if confined inside. In terms of consuming the liquid, if the final product is over proof, the moonshine itself is also extremely flammable and can be very dangerous. While the flammability of the distilling process and the product itself is a danger, more people have died from drinking moonshine than have died by explosions of stills due to the toxins in the brew.
Although many of the stills in operation today are the all-copper variety, there are plenty of the old handmade stills still around. Old stills use vehicle radiators in the distilling process, and they are apt to contain lead soldering, which can contaminate the moonshine.
The old radiators could also contain remnants of antifreeze glycol products which could also add toxins to the brew. In larger batches of distilled moonshine, tainting with methanol can also occur. Because methanol vaporizes at a lower temperature than alcohol, the first liquid produced by the distillation process can contain methanol.
The larger the batch, the more methanol. Most moonshine makers today know to pour off those first drippings from the condenser, also known as the foreshot, but not all of them know or do it. Methanol is highly poisonous and can cause blindness and even death. In a study, Dr.
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