Makin' Moonshine

Since our class was so interested when the topic of moonshine surfaced Tuesday, I thought I'd do a little research about the illegal product.

According to http://www.ibiblio.org/moonshine/make/make.html, "makin' good moonshine is quite an art." The process takes a lot of time and practice before one can create a worthy batch that sells. Throughout history, there have been many ways of making moonshine, which was demonstrated in class. Some people would add a special ingredient or perform a certain method during the distilling period to make their moonshine taste distinct. Rats anyone? The following is a basic recipe for moonshine:

"The basic ingredients:
*corn meal
*sugar
*water
*yeast
*malt

The basic process:
Mix all ingredients together in a large container. After mixing, move the mixture, called "mash," into a still and leave it to ferment. How quickly this process occurs depends on the warmth of the mash.
Heat the mash to the point of vaporization at 173 degrees. The mash will produce a clear liquid, often the color of dark beer. You must watch this process with careful attention.
Trap vapor using a tube or coil. The vapor will be transferred into a second, empty container. The resulting condensation is the moonshine. It is then ready to drink or sell.
Keep mash in container. It is now called "slop." Add more sugar, water, malt, and corn meal and repeat the process.

Repeat the process up to eight times before replacing the mash. "


Since I've been so fascinated with words and language this semester, I found the following interesting. It is a list of names bootleggers call their product. I saw this on the History Channel a few months ago, but the list did come from the above mentioned web-site.


corn liquor
white lightning
sugar whiskey
skull cracker
popskull
bush whiskey
stump
stumphole
'splo
ruckus juice
rotgut
stumphole
catdaddy
mule kick
hillbilly pop
white lightning
panther's breath
tiger's sweat
sweet spirits of cats a-fighting
alley bourbon
city gin
cool water
happy Sally
blue John
jump steady
see seven stars
old horsey
block and tackle
wild cat

Hope you enjoyed this weeks entry and learned something. However, please know that I do not advocate the making of illegal alcohol. I do, however, gain satisfaction with learning and sharing new information. :-)