How Long Has Making Moonshine Been Around?

In the South, tracking down and drinking moonshine is a rite of passage. Whether it’s the booze’s rebellious history or its dangerous reputation. Moonshine has cemented a place in the culture at large. Moonshine defines as “whiskey or other strong alcoholic drinks made and sold illegally,” With that definition, it may be confusing to walk into liquor stores and find booze labeled as moonshine,

Part of the problem lies in the lack of federal requirements for labeling something as moonshine, Unlike whiskey, which you must from grain, distilled and bottled at a certain alcohol content, and aged in oak, ‘shine has no equal, Like vodka, you can make it from anything fermentable: fruit, sugar, grain, or milk.

Like vodka, there’s no upper limit on its alcohol content. Unless you want to describe it as white whiskey on the label, you can make it any way you please. So, despite what you might have read in the OED, legally made hooch labeled “moonshine” is all over the place.

Despite its super Southern connotation, hooch isn’t only a Southern drink. The term moonshine has been around since the late 15th century. But, it was first used to refer to liquor in the 18th century in England. The American roots of the practice have their origins in frontier life in Pennsylvania, Also, other grain-producing states.

At the time, farms with grain mills would distill their excess product so that it wouldn’t spoil. Back then, whiskey was even used in some places as currency. In 1791, the federal government imposed a tax on liquor made in the country, known as the “whiskey tax.” For the next three years, distillers held off the tax collectors by less-than-legal means,

This brought a U.S. marshal to Pennsylvania to collect the taxes owed. More than 500 men attacked the area’s tax inspector general’s home. Their commander was then killed, which inspired a protest of nearly 6000 people. The tax repealed in 1801, and the events from the decade prior came to be the Whiskey Rebellion.

A lot of the lore and legend surrounding moonshine is true. Bad batches or certain production techniques (like distilling in car radiators) could result in liquor that could make you go blind—or worse, Some moonshiners claim that these stories were an effort to discredit their work.

Legal producers differ. Either way, the federal government commissioned Louis Armstrong to record radio ads about the dangers of drinking it, You should see all the Moonshine we have in our store, Don’t confuse moonshiners with bootleggers. Moonshiners make the liquor, while bootleggers smuggle it. The term bootlegger refers to the habit of hiding flasks in the boot tops around the 1880s.

But, with the introduction of cars, it came to mean anyone who smuggled booze. Mechanics found ways to soup up engines and modify cars to hide and transport as much moonshine as possible, In running from the law, these whiskey runners acquired some serious driving skills.

• On their off days, they’d race against each other, a pastime that would eventually breed NASCAR.
• The two were so closely linked, in fact, that a moonshiner gave seed money for NASCAR to its founder Bill France.
• Another well-known link is Robert Glenn Johnson, better known as Junior Johnson.
• As the son of a notorious moonshiner, this former driver and NASCAR team owner recently partnered with a North Carolina-based distillery to produce “Midnight Moon,” Whether you call it “shine”, rotgut, white lightning, firewater, skull pop, mountain dew, or moonshine,

Its rebellious history and contentious present make it a helluva drink. If you want to learn more about the History of Moonshine, please follow Tennessee Shine. CO.

When did they start making moonshine?

The Beginning of Moonshine – The practice of creating moonshine began in England in the 18th century and quickly spread to the US. For the first 200 years of its consumption in America, it was not illegal to produce moonshine, and issues surrounding the taxation of moonshine played a role in the American Revolution and Civil War.

Why did they start making moonshine?

The History of Moonshine in the United States Inspection of Homemade Moonshine Moonshine has played an important role in American history. In fact, moonshine wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for American history. Mankind has produced alcohol for thousands of years. However, the American government was one of the first major governments in the world to tax and control the alcohol industry.

The moment the government started to tax and control alcohol was also the moment the moonshine industry began. The term “moonshine” comes from the fact that illegal spirits were made under the light of the moon. In every part of America, early moonshiners worked their stills at night to avoid detection from authorities.

The United States started taxing liquors and spirits shortly after the American Revolution. In the years following the Revolution, the United States was struggling to pay the bills of the long war. Taxing liquors and spirits was an effective way to generate revenue for the government.

In the early frontier days of American history, moonshine wasn’t a hobby: it was a part-time job, Many farmers relied on moonshine manufacturing to survive bad years. Low-value corn crops could be turned into high-value whisky. Back in those days, Americans hated paying liquor taxes. They hated taxes so much that revenuers, the government agents who came to collect taxes, were often attacked, tarred, and feathered when they came to visit.

The tension between the government and its citizens eventually boiled over into a conflict called the Whisky Rebellion, which began in 1791 during George Washington’s presidency. Although the Whisky Rebellion was a violent resistance movement, fewer than 15 people were killed throughout the entire conflict. To suppress the rebellion, George Washington led a coalition of 13,000 militia troops into western Pennsylvania – which was the center of the rebellion and America’s frontier country at the time.

1. Washington successfully suppressed the Whisky Rebellion.
2. This marked an important point in U.S.
3. History because it proved that the newly formed country could suppress violent uprisings within its own territory.
4. But, ultimately, the rebels were successful because in 1801 Thomas Jefferson and his Republican Party repealed the tax to widespread public support.

During the Civil War, the American government once again imposed excise taxes on its citizens to fund the war. Revenuers and IRS officials cracked down harshly on moonshiners, leading to many violent conflicts throughout the country. During the Whisky Rebellion, moonshiners were portrayed as heroes standing against an oppressive government.

After the Civil War, that attitude shifted. Many now saw moonshiners as violent criminals. In 1920, moonshiners across the country rejoiced: Prohibition was passed across the nation. Legal alcohol was no longer available anywhere. Overnight, illegal liquor became one of the most profitable businesses in America.

Organized crime took over the moonshine business and distillers sprung up across the country to keep up with demand. Producers began to sell watered-down moonshine based on sugar instead of corn. Speakeasies – complete with hidden doors, passwords, and secret escape routes – could be found in every city in America.

1. The good times couldn’t last forever for moonshiners.
2. In 1933, Prohibition was repealed and the moonshine market dwindled to a shadow of its former self.
3. Today, moonshine is viewed much differently than it was a few decades ago.
4. Only a few developed countries in the world let residents legally produce their own home-brewed spirits.

New Zealand, for example, allows home distillation for personal consumption but not for private sale. Whether producing or running a clandestine distillery, you’re sipping on American history every time you pour yourself a glass of moonshine. : The History of Moonshine in the United States

How long did it take to make moonshine?

How Long Does It Take to Make Moonshine? – As you can see, the process of fermenting and distilling moonshine is quite time-consuming. In general, you can expect it to take between 1-3 weeks to make moonshine, as the mash must ferment and the distillation process must be continued until the final shine is safe for consumption.

How old is moonshine alcohol?

In the South, tracking down and drinking moonshine is a rite of passage. Whether it’s the booze’s rebellious history or its dangerous reputation. Moonshine has cemented a place in the culture at large. Moonshine defines as “whiskey or other strong alcoholic drinks made and sold illegally,” With that definition, it may be confusing to walk into liquor stores and find booze labeled as moonshine,

• Part of the problem lies in the lack of federal requirements for labeling something as moonshine,
• Unlike whiskey, which you must from grain, distilled and bottled at a certain alcohol content, and aged in oak, ‘shine has no equal,
• Like vodka, you can make it from anything fermentable: fruit, sugar, grain, or milk.

Like vodka, there’s no upper limit on its alcohol content. Unless you want to describe it as white whiskey on the label, you can make it any way you please. So, despite what you might have read in the OED, legally made hooch labeled “moonshine” is all over the place.

Despite its super Southern connotation, hooch isn’t only a Southern drink. The term moonshine has been around since the late 15th century. But, it was first used to refer to liquor in the 18th century in England. The American roots of the practice have their origins in frontier life in Pennsylvania, Also, other grain-producing states.

At the time, farms with grain mills would distill their excess product so that it wouldn’t spoil. Back then, whiskey was even used in some places as currency. In 1791, the federal government imposed a tax on liquor made in the country, known as the “whiskey tax.” For the next three years, distillers held off the tax collectors by less-than-legal means,

• This brought a U.S.
• Marshal to Pennsylvania to collect the taxes owed.
• More than 500 men attacked the area’s tax inspector general’s home.
• Their commander was then killed, which inspired a protest of nearly 6000 people.
• The tax repealed in 1801, and the events from the decade prior came to be the Whiskey Rebellion.

A lot of the lore and legend surrounding moonshine is true. Bad batches or certain production techniques (like distilling in car radiators) could result in liquor that could make you go blind—or worse, Some moonshiners claim that these stories were an effort to discredit their work.

1. Legal producers differ.
2. Either way, the federal government commissioned Louis Armstrong to record radio ads about the dangers of drinking it,
3. You should see all the Moonshine we have in our store,
4. Don’t confuse moonshiners with bootleggers.
5. Moonshiners make the liquor, while bootleggers smuggle it.
6. The term bootlegger refers to the habit of hiding flasks in the boot tops around the 1880s.

But, with the introduction of cars, it came to mean anyone who smuggled booze. Mechanics found ways to soup up engines and modify cars to hide and transport as much moonshine as possible, In running from the law, these whiskey runners acquired some serious driving skills.

• On their off days, they’d race against each other, a pastime that would eventually breed NASCAR.
• The two were so closely linked, in fact, that a moonshiner gave seed money for NASCAR to its founder Bill France.
• Another well-known link is Robert Glenn Johnson, better known as Junior Johnson.
• As the son of a notorious moonshiner, this former driver and NASCAR team owner recently partnered with a North Carolina-based distillery to produce “Midnight Moon,” Whether you call it “shine”, rotgut, white lightning, firewater, skull pop, mountain dew, or moonshine,

Its rebellious history and contentious present make it a helluva drink. If you want to learn more about the History of Moonshine, please follow Tennessee Shine. CO.

What was the golden age of moonshine?

Intro | Dixie Highway Daniel Duesst (pronounced “due east”) with his gun, his dog, and his jug of moonshine Sequatchie County, Tennessee, ca.1900 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection “Moonshine” is a generic term for high-proof distilled spirits that are usually made illegally (often in an attempt to avoid taxation).

1. Making moonshine was very popular in Tennessee well before prohibition.
2. As state and national prohibition laws forced distilleries to close their doors, however, demand for moonshine dramatically increased, and the Prohibition era is often considered the golden age of moonshining.
3. Moonshiners, also known as bootleggers, were quick to take advantage of the demand Prohibition created for their product.

They shifted their priorities from the quality to the quantity of their liquor, thereby making much more money. Paint thinner, antifreeze, manure, and embalming fluid were just a few of the hazardous ingredients used to make this moonshine. The first run of each batch of moonshine was often poisonous. Charlie Reecer and Dewey Smith sampling a batch of moonshine, Clay County, Tennessee, ca.1920-1925 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection The Moonshining tradition has carried on in Tennessee. Federal laws today allow individuals to make beer and wine for their own use, but not distilled liquor.

1. There are state and local laws forbidding the manufacture of liquor and a range of taxes on liquor production.
2. Under state laws, moonshining is often only punished as a misdemeanor, but federal laws typically impose much stricter penalties.
3. The state’s first licensed moonshine distillery, the Ole Smoky Distillery in Gatlinburg, opened in 2010.

There are other states that sell legal moonshine as well. Some popular brands include Catdaddy Caroline Moonshine and Tory and Sons 80 Proof, both from North Carolina. Bob Holland, Sheriff J.L. “Fate” Smith, and deputies after a raid on a still, Humphreys County, Tennessee, ca.1920s Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Moonshine has also made an impact culturally in popular films and television shows such as 1973’s “White Lightning,” starring Burt Reynolds, and the “Dukes of Hazard.” One cannot talk about the cultural impact of moonshine without mentioning one of the south’s most famous moonshiners, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton.

Popcorn was an Appalachian moonshiner who gained notoriety after self-publishing an autobiographical guide to making moonshine and self-producing a home video documenting his moonshining. He was also involved in several documentaries. In 2009, he was raided by the ATF and sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison for illegally distilling spirits and possession of a firearm as a felon.

Rather than serve his jail time, he committed suicide. He was laid to rest in Parrottsville, Tennessee. Top “View of Mountain 0.7 miles from Pikeville,” Pikeville, Tennessee, ca.1918 Dixie Highway Photograph Album, Archives Photograph Collection The Dixie Highway (running from Michigan to Florida) was a major route for the distribution of moonshine. In an effort to deliver their product safely, moonshiners would often modify their cars in order to outrun law enforcement and “revenuers” (agents from the U.S. Moonshine still, Clay County, Tennessee, 1918 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Two men posing in front of a moonshine still, Claiborne County, Tennessee, 1903 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Sheriff Mike Boatright and others with confiscated stills, Elizabethton, Tennessee, ca.1940s Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Sheriff and deputies surrounding broken stills beside the Presbyterian Church, Jonesborough, Tennessee, 1920 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Sheriff Mike Bootright and deputies with a confiscated moonshine still, Elizabethton, Tennessee, ca.1940s Looking Back at Tennessee Collection A moonshine still being “busted,” Grundy County, Tennessee, ca.1900 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection “In the mud near Daus,” Daus, Tennessee, ca.1918 Dixie Highway Photograph Album, Archives Photograph Collection

What is the highest proof of moonshine?

Is there 200 Proof Moonshine? – Contrary to what other people think, 200 proof moonshine exists. It’s probably the STRONGEST concentration, the HIGHEST PROOF of moonshine, and the HIGHEST PERCENTAGE of alcohol you’ll find out there. Though it doesn’t take the usual distilling process and simple tools to make this one.

1. Instead, there’s a lot of complexities that go on to get this really strong drink.
2. Would you dare drink a 200 proof moonshine? You’d probably say yes if you’re a daredevil.
3. Drinking 200 proof moonshine is NOT OKAY.
4. You’re practically drinking ethyl alcohol.
5. Remember, 200 proof moonshine has 100% alcohol content contained on it.

Drinking it pure would seriously burn your throat, That being said, be careful with moonshines that have 150 plus final alcohol content. On average, 100 to 120 proof is pretty much the level people can comfortably drink their moonshine. Any more than that? That’s something else.

When did people start distilling?

Page 6 – The process of distillation (from the Latin ‘de-stillare’ for ‘drip or trickle down”) is the separation of a liquid by evaporation and condensation. The simplest example of this is when steam from a kettle becomes deposited as drops of distilled water on a cold surface.

• Distillation is used to separate liquids from non-volatile solids, as in the separation of alcoholic liquors from fermented materials, or in the separation of two or more liquids having different boiling points, as in the separation of gasoline, kerosene and lubricating oil from crude oil.
• Other industrial applications include the desalination of seawater.As far back as the fourth century B.C.

Aristotle suggested the possibility of spirit distillation when he wrote: “Seawater can be made potable by distillation as well and wine and other liquids can be submitted to the same process.”. It is an age-old process which may have began as early as 2000 BC.

• Some say that the first use of distillation occurred in China, Egypt, or Mesopotamia for medicinal purposes as well as to create balms, essences, and perfumes.
• About 1810 B.C.
• In Mesopotamia, the perfumery of King Zimrilim employed this method to make hundreds of litres of balms, essences and incense from cedar, cypress, ginger and myrrh every month.

These were used to embalm the dead and for spiritual, medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Queen Cleopatra knew about distillation and is thought to have given an account of the process in a text which is now lost. In the first century, a Greek physician Pedanius Dioscurides made mention of this process after he noticed the condensation on the lid of a vessel in which some mercury was being heated.Historians state the alembic was probably invented around AD 200 – 300 by Maria the Jewess, or Zósimo of Panoplies an Egyptian alchemist and his sister Theosebeia, who invented many types of stills and reflux condensers.

1. Others state that during the eighth or ninth century Arab alchemists devised the alembic in an effort to obtain finer essences for perfumes while other Arab alchemists used the alembic in an effort to convert base metal into gold.
2. Ambix” is a Greek word defined as a vase with a small opening.
3. The vase was part of the distillation equipment.

Initially, the Arabs changed the word “Ambix” to “Ambic” and named the distillation equipment “Al Ambic”. This was later changed to alembic in Europe. Distillation of Wines Civilizations in almost every part of the world developed some form of alcoholic beverage very early in their history.

1. The Chinese were distilling a beverage from rice by 800 BC.
2. The Romans apparently produced a distilled beverage, although no references are found in writings before AD100.
3. Production of distilled spirits was reported in Britain before the Roman conquest.
4. Portugal, Spain, France and the rest of Western Europe probably produced distilled spirits but this was limited until the 8 th century, after contact with the Arabs.

The use of the alembic as a way of obtaining alcohol is attributed to Ibn Yasid. This discovery was probably made after the 10 th century. The first use of alcohol was for medicinal purposes and for prolonging life expectancy – it was referred to as “spirited water” – a healing elixir.

The first distilled sprits were made from sugar-based materials, primarily grapes and honey to make grape brandy and distilled mead. A major change in distillation came with the invention of a coiled cooling pipe in the 11 th century. Avicenna invented a coiled pipe which allowed the plant vapour and stream to cool down more effectively than previous distillers that used a straight cooling pipe.Through the Turkish invasions of Europe during the 14 th and 15 th centuries in the name of Allah, the Turks left behind many of their customs, traditions and secrets in the countries they crossed.

Among these secrets was distillation. The “al-ambiq” or alembic, and the making of “al-koh`l” or alcohol soon became known throughout the Christian world. As knowledge of the process spread throughout Europe the discovery of distillation grew to include its effects on liquid and while the dream to make gold by the alchemists with the alembic remained just a dream, sprits were discovered and named acqua vitae, or eau de vie meaning ‘water of life’.

The spirits or ‘water of life” were used for their therapeutic qualities. Early pharmaceutical observations bestowed healing powers to spirits as they induced a feeling of relaxation and well being. From here it soon became the norm to use beverages made from spirits at social gatherings leading to the endless varieties of spirits on the market today, whether it be Palinka from Hungry, Schnapps from Germany, Grappa from Italy, Eau de Vie and Cognac from France, Whisky from Scotland and Ireland, Aguardente from Portugal, Tequila from Mexico, Rum from Barbados and the Caribbean or Vodka from Poland and Russia, they are all Aqua Vitae or ‘water of life.

The alembic gradually improved. In 1526, Paracelsus used a water bath (called balneum Mariae by the alchemists) for the first time. It prevented the flask from cracking while heating up, and stabilised the liquid’s temperature. The vapour cooling system was also improved.

• The tube was run through vessels of cold water.
• In 1771, the German chemist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel invented an apparatus later wrongly named the Liebig condenser, the forerunner of the condensing equipment of today.
• In it, the tube leading the distillate out of the still was inside another one flowing with water.

The many pot stills available such as the alembic changed their shape and evolved depending on the country that used the distillation equipment and of course the capacity of the still depended on the purpose of the distillation. The traditional Portuguese alembic has a very rounded onion shape as earlier distillers believed that the more rounded shape favoured the return of water vapours into the pot thus obtaining higher quality aguardente.

• Portugal’s manufacture of copper alembics as old as it’s tradition in making “arguardente” (eau-de-vie).
• In fact aguardente is an essential ingredient of the world renowned Port wine.
• The history of Port wine is long and ancient.
• The first vineyards are believed to have been planted by the Phoenicians in the Regua region along the Douro Valley.

There is no lack of archaeological evidence. Archaeological remains include stone treading tanks that date back to at least the 3 rd or 4th century. It was really only during the second half of the 17 th century that “aguardente” was added to this wine and it came to be known as Port wine.

What was the golden age of moonshine?

Intro | Dixie Highway Daniel Duesst (pronounced “due east”) with his gun, his dog, and his jug of moonshine Sequatchie County, Tennessee, ca.1900 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection “Moonshine” is a generic term for high-proof distilled spirits that are usually made illegally (often in an attempt to avoid taxation).

Making moonshine was very popular in Tennessee well before prohibition. As state and national prohibition laws forced distilleries to close their doors, however, demand for moonshine dramatically increased, and the Prohibition era is often considered the golden age of moonshining. Moonshiners, also known as bootleggers, were quick to take advantage of the demand Prohibition created for their product.

They shifted their priorities from the quality to the quantity of their liquor, thereby making much more money. Paint thinner, antifreeze, manure, and embalming fluid were just a few of the hazardous ingredients used to make this moonshine. The first run of each batch of moonshine was often poisonous. Charlie Reecer and Dewey Smith sampling a batch of moonshine, Clay County, Tennessee, ca.1920-1925 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection The Moonshining tradition has carried on in Tennessee. Federal laws today allow individuals to make beer and wine for their own use, but not distilled liquor.

There are state and local laws forbidding the manufacture of liquor and a range of taxes on liquor production. Under state laws, moonshining is often only punished as a misdemeanor, but federal laws typically impose much stricter penalties. The state’s first licensed moonshine distillery, the Ole Smoky Distillery in Gatlinburg, opened in 2010.

There are other states that sell legal moonshine as well. Some popular brands include Catdaddy Caroline Moonshine and Tory and Sons 80 Proof, both from North Carolina. Bob Holland, Sheriff J.L. “Fate” Smith, and deputies after a raid on a still, Humphreys County, Tennessee, ca.1920s Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Moonshine has also made an impact culturally in popular films and television shows such as 1973’s “White Lightning,” starring Burt Reynolds, and the “Dukes of Hazard.” One cannot talk about the cultural impact of moonshine without mentioning one of the south’s most famous moonshiners, Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton.

Popcorn was an Appalachian moonshiner who gained notoriety after self-publishing an autobiographical guide to making moonshine and self-producing a home video documenting his moonshining. He was also involved in several documentaries. In 2009, he was raided by the ATF and sentenced to eighteen months in federal prison for illegally distilling spirits and possession of a firearm as a felon.

Rather than serve his jail time, he committed suicide. He was laid to rest in Parrottsville, Tennessee. Top “View of Mountain 0.7 miles from Pikeville,” Pikeville, Tennessee, ca.1918 Dixie Highway Photograph Album, Archives Photograph Collection The Dixie Highway (running from Michigan to Florida) was a major route for the distribution of moonshine. In an effort to deliver their product safely, moonshiners would often modify their cars in order to outrun law enforcement and “revenuers” (agents from the U.S. Moonshine still, Clay County, Tennessee, 1918 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Two men posing in front of a moonshine still, Claiborne County, Tennessee, 1903 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Sheriff Mike Boatright and others with confiscated stills, Elizabethton, Tennessee, ca.1940s Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Sheriff and deputies surrounding broken stills beside the Presbyterian Church, Jonesborough, Tennessee, 1920 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection Sheriff Mike Bootright and deputies with a confiscated moonshine still, Elizabethton, Tennessee, ca.1940s Looking Back at Tennessee Collection A moonshine still being “busted,” Grundy County, Tennessee, ca.1900 Looking Back at Tennessee Collection “In the mud near Daus,” Daus, Tennessee, ca.1918 Dixie Highway Photograph Album, Archives Photograph Collection