Base Moonshine Ingredients and Materials:
- 5 Gallons of Water.
- 8.5 Pounds of Flaked Corn Maize.
- 1.5 Pounds of Crushed Malted Barley.
- Yeast.
- Mash Pot.
- Fermentation Bucket.
- Heat Source.
- Thermometer.
More items
Contents
What is the easiest way to make moonshine?
Pot (or Still) – There are two main ways of creating moonshine: with a pot (the traditional way) or with a reflux still (Amazon link) (the more efficient, yet more expensive way). Generally speaking, pot stills are the way to go for simple moonshining, as they require only that you boil the mash inside them.
What alcohol is used to make moonshine?
History – The Moonshine Man of Kentucky, an illustration from Harper’s Weekly, 1877, showing five scenes from the life of a Kentucky moonshiner A historical moonshine distilling-apparatus in a museum Moonshine is by tradition usually a clear, unaged whiskey, once made with barley mash in Scotland and Ireland or maize corn mash in the United States, though plain sugar became just as common in illicit liquor during the last century.
The word originated in the British Isles as a result of excise laws and became meaningful in the United States only after a tax passed after the Revolutionary War outlawing non-registered stills with the Tariff of 1791, or the Excise Whiskey Tax of 1791. This tax lead to the Whiskey Rebellion lasting between 1791-1794, where the tax went unpaid by the rebels and was met with violent protest.
This tax lasted until 1802, were it was repealed. Another tax was introduced with the Revenue Act of 1861 and Revenue Act of 1862 that heavily taxed the production of spirits leading to an increase in illegal distilling and in turn, increased action from revenue agents that enforced the taxes.
Illegal distilling accelerated during the Prohibition era (1920–1933), which mandated a total ban on alcohol production under the Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution, Since the amendment was repealed in 1933, laws focus on evasion of taxation on any type of spirits or intoxicating liquors. Applicable laws were historically enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of the US Department of Justice, but are now usually handled by state agencies.
Enforcement agents were once known colloquially as “revenuers”.
Can moonshine be 100% alcohol?
Is Moonshine 100 Percent Alcohol? – No, moonshine is not 100% alcohol. Generally, moonshine falls between 40% and 80% alcohol by volume, but the length of time and process used in distilling it will impact the content. It’s important to note that high alcohol content can have severely detrimental effects on the human body, so drinking 100% alcohol is very dangerous.
Does Jack Daniels make moonshine?
From Moonshine To Whiskey: The History Of Jack Daniel’s TGR Staff – 09/20/2021 Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel was the man behind, The story of how he created his first batch of moonshine is shrouded in myth and legend, but what we do know is that by 1866 Jack had built a whiskey distillery on Lynchburg’s main street.
He named it after himself so people would remember him as the legendary figure who put Tennessee Whiskey on the map. Jack left home in 1864 and had was taken in by Reverend Dan Call, on top of being a pastor, Dan, and his slave were known for making whiskey. It was here at the Call family farm that he learned the art of distilling.
A few years later Jack would hire Nearest to be the Head Distiller at Jack Daniel’s. Jack even opened two bars in Lynchburg’s town square, the White Rabbit and Red Dog saloons. As a successful businessman, Jack had a taste for the finer things in life and was known to be a dapper dresser, he also carried a pocket watch.
In 2000, his 1892 Patek Philippe pocket was sold at auction to the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, Switzerland where it is on display. In 1904, Jack Daniel’s Old No.7 takes the gold medal at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. Jack wouldn’t see many of the awards, in 1906 after being unable to open his safe, Jack kicks it out of frustration.
The kick broke his toe and the resulting injury and infection was something he would never fully recover from. Some claim that this is just a tall tale, but it is the official story according to the distillery. Since Jack had never married or had children, he would pass control of the company over to his nephews in 1907.
- Jack would pass away in 1911 at the age of 62.
- Jack’s nephew Lem Motlow bought out his brother and would go on to run the company for the next 40 years.
- Just a few years after inheriting the distillery, Motlow would face the unexpected, a state law in Tennesee baring the production and sale of alcoholic beverages.
They happened to be in one of the first states to enact prohibition. The ban on drinking would go nationwide in 1920. When Federal prohibition ended in 1933, Tennessee kept it in place statewide, it would take Lem Motlow running for the state senate to push through legislation to lift the statewide ban in 1937.
- This allowed Motlow to reopen his family’s distillery and resume production of Jack Daniel’s No.7.
- But just two short years later a new law would pass, called “local option” allowing each county to decide whether or not to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages.
- Moore County, home of Jack Daniel’s decided to become a dry county, leaving America’s oldest registered distillery in a dry county.
The history of Jack Daniel’s and Tennessee whiskey is long, but it’s one that deserves to be told. We hope you found this article interesting; if so, please share it with your friends! To learn more about the world of bourbon and American whiskeys in general, make sure to check out some other articles under “.” : From Moonshine To Whiskey: The History Of Jack Daniel’s
Does moonshine make you drunker?
Consuming Methanol In Moonshine – Upon first sip, the dangerous potential of methanol is undetectable. It will simply get people drunker. However, after it is metabolized, the methanol can have an extremely harmful effect in someone’s body.10 milliliters (ml) of methanol is all it takes to permanently damage the optic nerve and cause partial, if not complete, blindness.30 ml of methanol is lethal.
For reference, and standard shot glass in the United States holds 40 ml. If less than 10 ml of methanol is consumed then the worst someone will experience is a hangover, (albeit, quite possibly the worst hangover of their life). However, if someone consumes 10 ml or more of methanol, even split up among drinks, that can be enough to cause permanent damage or kill them.
While there are processes today to discard the toxic alcohol that is visually indistinguishable from water, some illegal Moonshiners will add methanol back in to provide a stronger potency. Obviously, without regulation, there is no way to know if illicit alcohol contains methanol.
What is the easiest alcohol to make?
The Easiest Alcohol to Make – Most would consider mead to be the easiest alcohol to make, however as straightforward as it is to make mead it is not the easiest. The easiest alcohol to make is fermenting fruit juice. It is not the highest quality alcohol by any means and may not taste the best, but it will do the trick when you are in a pinch and is very simple to make.
Simply buy a bottle of your favorite fruit juice and a packet of dry yeast. Any fruit juice will work as long as it is 100% pure fruit juice. As for the yeast, it is recommended to visit a homebrew shop to buy it, champagne yeast is what is typically used, however, bakers yeast will also work. You will also need an airlock of sorts to let the CO2 gas created during fermentation out, while not allowing oxygen in.
Since you are going to ferment the alcohol in the juice bottle itself, you can either use a standard homebrew airlock used for making beer or wine as long as you can find a stopper that will fit your juice bottle, or simply use a balloon with a pinhole in it.
- To begin we recommend removing approximately 2oz of the juice from the bottle, which prevents an overflow of what is referred to as krausen (foam) during the fermentation.
- Next, add the yeast, you only need approximately ¼ of a tsp spoon of yeast, you can add more if you want a higher alcohol percentage, however, keep in mind the higher the alcohol the less sweet the finished product will be, this is because the yeast eats the sugars in order to make the alcohol.
Once you have added the yeast, fit the airlock or balloon in place over the mouth of the bottle. Next, place the bottle in a room temperature location in your home and let it ferment. Fermentation should be completed within 4- 7 days. When there is no more activity happening within the bottle it will be ready to drink.
- If you want it to be sparkling or carbonated after it has finished fermenting, put the original lid back on for a few days so the gas can build back up somewhat.
- It is important to make sure fermentation has completed before putting the cap back on or you risk overpressurizing the bottle and having it explode.
When it has finished carbonating, store it in the fridge. When serving we recommend you drink it out of a separate container or glass, this is because there will be a build-up of what is referred to as trub at the bottom of the bottle, pour the liquid slowly and on an angle into your glass so as not to disturb the trub and have it end up in your glass.
