What To Call Someone Who Runs A Still For Moonshine?

What is another name for a moonshine runner?

Prohibition in the United States – In Prohibition-era United States, moonshine distillation was done at night to deter discovery. While moonshiners were present in urban and rural areas around the United States after the Civil War, moonshine production concentrated in Appalachia because the limited road network made it easy to evade revenue officers and because it was difficult and expensive to transport corn crops.

As a study of farmers in Cocke County, Tennessee, observes: “One could transport much more value in corn if it was first converted to whiskey. One horse could haul ten times more value on its back in whiskey than in corn.” Moonshiners such as Maggie Bailey of Harlan County, Kentucky, Amos Owens of Rutherford County, North Carolina, and Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton of Maggie Valley, North Carolina, became legendary.

Once the liquor was distilled, drivers called “runners” or “bootleggers” smuggled moonshine liquor across the region in cars specially modified for speed and load-carrying capacity. The cars were ordinary on the outside but modified with souped-up engines, extra interior room, and heavy-duty shock absorbers to support the weight of the illicit alcohol.

• After Prohibition ended, the out-of-work drivers kept their skills sharp through organized races, which led to the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR ).
• Several former “runners,” such as Junior Johnson, became noted drivers in the sport.
• Some varieties of maize corn grown in the United States were once prized for their use in moonshine production.

One such variety used in moonshine, Jimmy Red corn, a “blood-red, flint-hard ‘dent’ corn with a rich and oily germ,” almost became extinct when the last grower died in 2000. Two ears of Jimmy Red were passed on to “seed saver” Ted Chewning, who saved the variety from extinction and began to produce it on a wider scale.

There have been modern-day attempts on the state level to legalize home distillation of alcohol, similar to how some states have been treating cannabis, despite there being federal laws prohibiting the practice. For example, the New Hampshire state legislature has tried repeatedly to pass laws allowing unlicensed home distillation of small batches.

In 2023, Ohio introduced legislation to do the same, with other states likely to follow.

What is a moonshine maker called?

MOONSHINE. – “Moonshine” has had many colloquial names, sometimes being called “rot gut,” “white lightnin’,” or “corn liquor.” By definition, “moonshine” is an “intoxicating liquor, especially illegally distilled corn whiskey.” A “moonshiner” is “a maker or seller of illicit whiskey.” The European spelling is “whisky” (the United States spelling became whiskey), a Gaelic word meaning “water of life.” The water of life, or illegal, illicit liquor, has been a part of world history and lore and is a tradition in the southern United States.

Oklahoma is no exception, with many residents traditionally making, selling, and consuming illegal liquor. Almost from the nation’s beginning, the manufacture and sale of whiskey has been taxed as a source of government revenue. Consequently, the primary reason for illegally making whiskey has been to avoid paying the taxes.

In 1791, in order to help pay the national debt, and encouraged by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, the U.S. Congress placed an excise tax on whiskey. Many Scotch-Irish settlers, who not only consumed whiskey but also distilled it and sold it for a livelihood, considered the tax to be discriminatory.

1. In 1794 they demonstrated and rebelled in a series of events, primarily on the frontier, called the Whiskey Rebellion.
2. They were arrested, but Pres.
3. George Washington later pardoned them.
4. After the Civil War in some areas taxation on legal alcohol was set at “eight times” the distiller’s cost.
5. To avoid paying the tax, in the 1870s many distillers decided to bribe revenue collectors and politicians at all levels of the government.

Their efforts became a public scandal known as the Whiskey Ring. Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin Bristow eventually broke the ring, which was one of several scandals during Pres. Ulysses S. Grant’s administration. In Indian Territory it was against federal law to sell or give alcohol to American Indians.

In 1889, when the Unassigned Lands (Oklahoma Territory) opened to non-Indian settlement, saloons began operating along the area’s eastern and southern borders, adjacent to Indian lands. The liquor traffic was so heavy over the next two decades that the framers of the 1907 state constitution included the prohibition of all alcoholic beverages.

Nevertheless, distilling, selling, and consuming moonshine continued after statehood. After national prohibition was repealed in 1933, the state legislature, guided by religious conservatism, passed a law declaring that nothing stronger than 3.2 beer, in alcohol percentage level, could be sold in Oklahoma.

In 1959 the law was repealed. Moonshine is made from fermented grains or mash. In Oklahoma the main ingredient is usually corn, and the product is called “corn whiskey.” Other ingredients, such as yeast, malt, and sugar, vary according to the taste of the distiller (moonshiner). The distillation process usually involves copper pots, a fire (alcohol rises at about 172 degrees Fahrenheit), and an oak barrel in which to age and give color to the liquor.

As it cooks, the sugar usually creates a sweet odor in the atmosphere. Revenue agents could sometimes locate a still by the smell or could identify a moonshiner by his purchases of large quantities of sugar or other constituents. The resulting product has customarily been “bottled” and sold in fruit-canning jars.

Moonshine has played a major role in Oklahoma history, as has the bootlegger, who sold illegal whiskey to his consumers. Because the law prohibited the selling of 3.2 beer where dancing was allowed, the bootlegger became a major fixture at dance halls. Bootleggers also became Oklahoma folk legends. However, rather than peddling moonshine, most bootleggers sold liquor that had been legally distilled and bottled and “imported” from other states.

The unsophisticated technology of moonshine manufacture often produced a substance that was hazardous to health. The “jake leg” or “jake walk,” a permanent, debilitating condition that pulled a leg into an almost useless position, was acquired by drinking moonshine distilled with Jamaican ginger or by drinking Jamaican ginger, which was usually 70 percent alcohol.

Some moonshiners learned that “jake” strengthened their product, and some alcoholics learned that Jamaican ginger was as strong as or was stronger than moonshine. Jamaican ginger also contained other dangerous chemicals. Unfortunately, some of the earliest “jake walk” victims were diagnosed in Oklahoma.

In the late twentieth century many moonshiners used various methods or added substances, including lye, battery acid, or other caustics, to shorten the distillation and aging time. The resulting liquor could seriously injure or kill the drinker. Home brew, moonshine, Choc beer and/or other nontaxed and illicit alcoholic beverages have found a large market in Oklahoma.

What is a thumper for a still?

What Is a Thumper? – A thumper is essentially a parasitic kettle connected to the primary distilling kettle, The thumper gets heated with the heat already produced to feed the primary kettle. Evidently, the thumper gets its name from the sound it makes while in operation.

What is a moonshine runner?

HOW THE PROHIBITION LEAD TO STOCK CAR RACING – MOONSHINE & BOOTLEGGERS Made in the cover of night to prevent the detection of smoke rising from clandestine stills earned the alcohol its name: moonshine, The high-proof distilled spirit produced illicitly, moonshine exploded in popularity when the 18th Amendment of the US Constitution instituted a total ban on alcohol. “Complete in Everything but Legality”, Still Operation Located in Large Barn, 8 Miles NW of Vancouver, WA, 1934, OHS call# 009664. Bootleggers smuggled moonshine from clandestine distilleries to risk-taking customers, often having to outwit the cops at every turn. Oregon State alcohol agents examine 100 gallon still found in raid three miles south of Loraine, Oregon, OHS call# 007151. In hopes of improving their chances of outrunning prohibition cops, bootleggers modified their cars and trucks by enhancing the engines and suspensions to make their vehicles faster. These cars were called moonshine runners, MOONSHINE RUNNING STOCK CARS Ford Model A Manual and Ford Coupes in Brochure, WOS#4129 and WOS#4128. Ford “Model A” Instruction Book Cover, WOS#4128. When modifying a car to make a moonshine runner, subtlety was the first rule. The vehicle had to look “stock” — it could not have any flashy modifications that would make the car attract attention. A variety of vehicles, including Dodge Coronets, Oldsmobile Rocket 88s, and Chevy Coupes, were used as moonshine runners. Oldsmobile 88 Ornament WOS#5756. Modifications made to moonshine runners included adding more carburetors so the car could burn more fuel, installing new intake manifolds to bring more air to engine, and over boring the cylinders to increase the car’s displacement for more horsepower. 1920-1930s era Turner Brass Works automobile blowtorch, WOS# 4152. These cars didn’t only need to drive fast — they needed to haul a whole lot of weight. Typically carrying 100 to 180 gallons of moonshine, these vehicles needed to drive at high speeds while carrying almost 800 pounds of alcohol — and they had to do it on twisting, curving backwoods dirt roads. 1920s OR License plate, WOS#1143. In order to prevent the police from tracking them down, bootleggers would use “borrowed” license plates during their runs. They would also install switches that would turn their taillights and brake lights off to help them throw off any coppers on their tail. RACING BOOTLEGGERS Junior Johnson, courtesy of Flickr (creative commons). Junior Johnson, former bootlegger, moonshiner, and NASCAR driver was known to use this move. Junior Johnson was just 14 when he began running his father’s moonshine — before even he had his license: “I didn’t need one, ‘cuz I wasn’t gonna stop!” In their free time, bootleggers would race against each other in open dirt fields or on backroads, proving who had the fastest car and who was the best driver. Lee Petty, WOS#4809. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, many bootleggers and moonshiners moved to legitimate liquor businesses. Some, however, like Junior Johnson, Benny Parsons, and Lee Petty transferred their skills of running from the law and driving at high speeds on dirt roads towards racing stock cars professionally. Lee Petty’s helmet given to fellow stock car driver Tiny Lund, WOS#0323. By 1948, permanent stock car tracks had popped up around the country, and in response to the need for a formal association, Bill France Sr. formed the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, aka NASCAR. Years later, all three bootleggers turn stock car drivers where inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Benny went on to write a book all about stock car driving techniques, #WOS3099.

Can you run a still without a thumper?

What Is a Thumper Keg For? – Still confused what it does? We’re getting there. So we briefly stated what a thump keg is meant to do. Now, let’s get into the details of how this works. Ordinarily, a standard pot still that does not have a thump keg can distill a wash only to a “low wine”.

1. This will give you an output that is 40 to 05% alcohol by volume or ABV.
2. If you want to achieve the high alcohol content for high-proof whiskey or any other spirit like moonshine, YOU WILL NEED you guessed it! A second or even a third distillation.
3. Now, a lot of distillers in Europe continue to use the swan-neck pot stills and a beer stripper to distill wash to the low-wine state, while using a second spirit still to transform it into a high-proof spirit.

In the case of hillbilly stills, the thumper keg acts as the second distillation apparatus, much like the spirit still.

What is a moonshine bootlegger?

Definitions of bootlegger. someone who makes or sells illegal goods, especially illegal liquor. synonyms: moonshiner. type of: criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw.

What is a moonshine bootlegger?

Definitions of bootlegger. someone who makes or sells illegal goods, especially illegal liquor. synonyms: moonshiner. type of: criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw.

What do you call a bootlegger?

Synonyms of bootlegger (noun illegal liquor dealer ) moonshiner. rumrunner. whiskey peddler. whisky peddler.