Moonshine

[ohiopiper]

Yeah, it's pretty much a dying way of life. Time was when it was easier to be self-sufficient and any money made was for things you couldn't provide yourself or barter for. Now, barter is gone and society makes it almost impossible to be truly self-sufficient.

As for the corn whiskey, we always had it pretty much straight, nothing added except a bit of rye for flavor and color after it was finished. My uncle Allan spent a lot of time either keeping a step ahead of the law with his still or waiting for his 21 days to be over so he could get out of the pokey.

As for quality, I'm not sure I'd trust any moonshine that I didn't personally know the man making it. It used to be a respected trade. Everyone in a community knew who made it and if it wasn't good, they knew who to go deal with. It was serious business, bad moonshine can kill you. Now, there is enough cheap and legal whiskey available, it makes one wonder what shortcuts are being taken to keep 'shine profitable.(?) A few still make a run for kicks and keep everything in order, but don't fool yourself. Anyone making it for sale is making it cheaper than a bottle of the worst stuff on the bottom shelf at a state store. And likely not using copper worms, but old radiators.

Edit to add: moonshiners on both sides of my family. Maternal in Kentucky, Paternal in southern Pennsylvania.

[JRB]

Cool! This thread makes me think of THE HILLS OF CONNEMARA:

Gaelic Storm - Hills of Connemara
Gather up the pots and the old tin can
The mash, the corn, the barley and the bran
Run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising Barney

Keep your eyes well peeled today
The big tall men are on their way
Searching for the mountain tay
In the hills of Connemara

Mountain breezes as they blow
Hear their echo in the glen below
The gombeen men are on the go
In the hills of Connemara

A gallon for the butcher, a quart for Tom
A bottle for poor old Father John
To help his prayers and hymns along
In the hills of Connemara

Stand your ground boys, it's too late
The excise men are at the gate
Glory be to God, but they're drinking it straight
In the hills of Connemara

Swing to the left and swing to the right
The excise men will dance all night
Drinking up the tay till the broad daylight
In the hills of Connemara

Gather up the pots and the old tin can
The mash, the corn, the barley and the bran
Run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising Barney

[Burly Brute]

Cool! This thread makes me think of THE HILLS OF CONNEMARA:

Gaelic Storm - Hills of Connemara
Gather up the pots and the old tin can
The mash, the corn, the barley and the bran
Run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising Barney

Keep your eyes well peeled today
The big tall men are on their way
Searching for the mountain tay
In the hills of Connemara

Mountain breezes as they blow
Hear their echo in the glen below
The gombeen men are on the go
In the hills of Connemara

A gallon for the butcher, a quart for Tom
A bottle for poor old Father John
To help his prayers and hymns along
In the hills of Connemara

Stand your ground boys, it's too late
The excise men are at the gate
Glory be to God, but they're drinking it straight
In the hills of Connemara

Swing to the left and swing to the right
The excise men will dance all night
Drinking up the tay till the broad daylight
In the hills of Connemara

Gather up the pots and the old tin can
The mash, the corn, the barley and the bran
Run like the devil from the excise man
Keep the smoke from rising Barney

I love GS and this is one of the hundred reasons why.

[Burly Brute]

That is an interesting show, but I have to say, it's full of a lot of crap too. Some of it is downright painful to watch. Maybe I've been sheltered, but every drop of homemade liquor I've ever *allegedly* partook in, has been carefully made in pot stills, from a mash of mostly corn, by a person that took pride in what they did. No bleach, no radiators, no formaldehyde.

My last two jars were from Popcorn himself by way of my father, while he was still in Maggie Valley (egads, back in 2006). Couple of years later, Dad passed away. In the paper with my father's obituary (The Waynesville Mountaineer), the front page news was that Popcorn Sutton had been busted again. This was the last time, as a few months after that he killed himself.

I lost pretty much all of my Hillbilly roots the year my dad died. I'm pretty much a city slicker now, working on computers and living in Florida. And I miss the "likker", but more so I miss the heritage my son is going to miss out on, and that I took for granted up until it was all gone.

Moonshine isn't just a vehicle for inebriation to some people.

Honestly, I think they take pride in their work and I don't know that it's crap, per se, I think they don't show a lot on that show because they aren't allowed to by law. I noticed in one episode the Tim guy said they couldnt film some of what he was doing for legal reasons or something.

And hey man, you can take a boy out of dixie but you can't take ole dixie from a boy. Just start easing back into it And I know what you mean about the land + crops, etc. It's such a pain living out in the desert and having to irrigate EVERYTHING.

[Riverkilt]

What about Jimmy Buffett's song about Honeysuckle Vine Water and the bear?

Had the pleasure of sippin' some home squeezin out of a 5 gallon mayonaise jar in a cabin on the Clinch River in Virginia. Made from corn as big as your forearm. Asked the "distiller" how he grew such big corn and he said "Mule Manure." So guess I was sippin' a form of distilled mule manure - but Lordy it was sweet and went down smooth and had a kick to it.

Later was able to buy some Georgia Moon - legal moonshine - at the Boozarama store. Not as smooth as the Clinch River squeezin's.

Nice thing about moonshine - it doesn't mess around, gets right to the point.

[piperdbh]

My last two jars were from Popcorn himself

'nuff said.


Quote of the day:

Moonshine isn't just a vehicle for inebriation to some people.

[Meadcrafter]

Sorry, but if it's legal, it ain't 'shine.

[James Hood]

Wasn't there a folk-Gaelic song a couple years back by like the Clancy Brothers or Irish Rovers called, "The Moonshiner"?

[BoldHighlander]

Good old applepie... shine proofed with apple juice instead of water...

Not sure ... I'll have to ask my sis'.

That seems to be awfully dark and cloudy to be a jar of corn. It looks more like apple brandy than moonshine.

Nope, it is moonshine (though it had cinnamon sticks soaking in it for a spell). Home distilled, not bought in the store & transported across state lines (from Arkansas to Texas) .... which is why I won't say more about who & exact location.

Just thought y'all would like to see the photo.

[BoldHighlander]

Sorry, but if it's legal, it ain't 'shine.

Yep

I have seen some "legal" 'shine based upon old localized recipes sold in liquor stores, but in my mind it isn't really 'shine as defined above.