View Full Version : Do you know any moonshiners?
Moonshine
Do you know a moonshiner? Moonshine has been outlawed for two hundred or more years… not for health reasons and not because it is a dangerous item to consume, but because it is a tax issue. The Fed’s love alcohol because they tax the dickens out of it. I had no idea though how popular moonshining is as a hobby in todays world.
I can go down to my local grocery store and buy a 750 ML bottle of Gem Clear 180 proof, legal, tax paid, alcohol for $14. I have a friend that can use his still and produce 750 ML of 180 proof for somewhere around $30. HELLO! He does it because it is his hobby and a science and not to avoid taxes… You can’t drink 180 proof and (I am told) it tastes like sheet. He makes a product that is 100 proof, and then “oaks,” or ages it on toasted oak chips for at least 3 days. He is doing this not to avoid taxes, not to make money, he is doing it because it is chalenging and fun and there are recipes for panty dropping shine...
The TV shows about todays moonshiners are mostly hype and BS, but there are thousands of hobbyists out there that are breaking an archaic law that should exempt individuals that produce for their own consumption.
Go to http://homedistiller.org/forum/ and read up on the hobby… You can read 24/7 for the next six months then you can do it yourself!
How many people are doing this? A proof and tralle hydrometer is only used in distilling. Look it up on eBay. The first 2 listings show over 8,500 of them have been sold in the last month.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=moonshine+stills&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l2632.R3.TR11.TRC2.A0.H4.Xmo onshine+.TRS1&_nkw=moonshine+still&_sacat=14308
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=moonshine+stills&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1311.R1.TR1.TRC0.A0.H5.Xpro of+and+tralle.TRS0&_nkw=proof+and+tralle+hydrometer&_sacat=14308
He is doing this not to avoid taxes, not to make money, he is doing it because it is chalenging and fun
Agree. It's like accusing us hobbyist that we reload ammo to keep from paying taxes on retail off the shelf ammo.
One of my favorite shows is Moonshiners. I've learned a little from the show even though some of it is kinda staged stupid. If I liked alcohol I would be temped to give it a try. The distillation part of it relates to my previous refinery occupation.
Making wine is much easier and not near as regulated. There was a store in Mobile (maybe it's still there) that sold all the books, fixtures and fruit concentrates for wine making. My mother made wine a couple of times just using a very large jar with cloth secured over the top to let fermentation gases out while preventing bugs and dust from getting in. She was not a drinker. I think she sampled it to see if she was doing it right but that was about it.
Just from hearsay from oldtimers when I was a kid they would mention that someone made shine but it was because of prohibition or lack of money. These people might give some of their product away or trade it for something.
Even though I've always lived in the deep South (if that makes any difference), I've never known of anyone personally who moonshined.
The feds really should leave these people alone and focus on pot, meth labs and other drug use.
Major Tom
12-22-2017, 05:37
During prohibition, my grandfather made his own booze in a wooded area behind his house. He also made his own beer. He was of German Descent. BTW, his brother was the chief of police back then.
A couple of years ago, before I retired, my fellow workers asked, What do you want for Xmas? I jokeing said, Moonshine. Lo and behold, on the last working day I was handed a MASON jar full of clear liquid! Smooth, best tasting stuff I've ever had. The ABC stores in Virginia now sell the stuff!
No moonshine but have two friends that make small batches of beer. It's a hobby and they are always trying new recipes. Some of it tastes very good some not so much.
My mother often spoke of farmers who made their own beer. Back before the days of A/C they would bottle the beer and place the bottles under the house where it was cool. Sometimes they would bottle it a little too early (while the fermentation was still occurring) and while visiting people you would occasionally hear a bottle or two "pop".
Clark Howard
12-22-2017, 06:25
The last member of my family that made, sold, and drank white liquor died in the late sixties. He was the last of a long line. My great grandfather is reputed to have said, "There is drinking whiskey, and selling whiskey. You cannot buy the drinking kind." I take the meaning to be that drinking whiskey is given, not sold. Regards, Clark
I have drank ''moonshine'' from many different shiners in several states and it all has one thing in common, it is rough to drink. Anyone who ''likes'' shine is either lying to themselves or is in the last stages of alcoholism.
I have drank ''moonshine'' from many different shiners in several states and it all has one thing in common, it is rough to drink. Anyone who ''likes'' shine is either lying to themselves or is in the last stages of alcoholism.
Agree with this too. I was at a party one night and tried a little MS mixed with Coke and it was real good. Many years later, now that you can buy it at the liquor stores I bought a bottle of Popcorn Sutton's moonshine @ about $45. Like you said, it is rough. I thought it was just me because I basically don't like alcohol. This stuff is really crap.
clintonhater
12-22-2017, 08:24
One of my favorite shows is Moonshiners. I've learned a little from the show even though some of it is kinda staged stupid.
Hey, most of those guys could pass for Harvard grads compared to the "sang" hunters on the Appalachian Outlaws show.
Mark in Ottawa
12-22-2017, 08:45
There is a chain of large liquor stores in Florida and some of the nearby states called Total Wines that sells several different kinds of liquor called moonshine for $20 a bottle. See http://www.totalwine.com/spirits/white-whiskey-moonshine//appalachian-moonshine/p/169715750?s=1108&igrules=true
JB White
12-22-2017, 08:52
I have drank ''moonshine'' from many different shiners in several states and it all has one thing in common, it is rough to drink. Anyone who ''likes'' shine is either lying to themselves or is in the last stages of alcoholism.
Agree with this too. I was at a party one night and tried a little MS mixed with Coke and it was real good. Many years later, now that you can buy it at the liquor stores I bought a bottle of Popcorn Sutton's moonshine @ about $45. Like you said, it is rough. I thought it was just me because I basically don't like alcohol. This stuff is really crap.
I did snag some rough stuff out of Georgia back in '78. We opened it up on NYE during a blizzard. We likened it to drinking carburetor cleaner.
There is some really good stuff coming out of....I'll call it "Little San Juan" these days. Sippin' liquor for those summer nights when all the neighbors are out. I don't care for their passion fruit or the mango. (Save those flavors for the paletas AFAIC) However their almond rum is better than anything I've had store bought. A real treat.
Some of their competitors don't have quite the knack though. Everyone is able to tell when somebody went to the cheaper guy instead. Whoever is making the really good stuff is very proud of their craft.
aintright
12-22-2017, 08:52
One thing , if the shine ain't cut , you don't drink it , you sip it . You see a fellows Adam's apple go up and down , he is either really drunk or drinking watered down liquor .
Moon shine can be very good , as said , there is selling shine and there is drinking shine . Corn and rye liquor is the usual market stuff and it is indeed course , peach , to me , is the best . Also be aware there is a pile of yayhoos out there that think they are buying peach , apple , and various berry liquors and the stuff either has the fruit particles or is colored , this is the stuff you will see people drinking , not sipping , because it has had fruit juices added to it for flavoring and there fore it is cut .
You can add fruits to good rye or corn and make it more palatable , but you will still want to sip it . One favorite of people who are into a night of drinking is to eat the fruits out of the bottom of the jar , this is some potent stuff and usually results in the night cap .
Real peach will be clear with a slight smell of peach and even slighter taste of peach when sipped . Back when I was young and full of piss and vinegar I usually bought 10-15 gallons for a personal stash per year . Had a upright freezer in the basement that I kept it in . The ole man that used to make it , passed several years ago and I gave up drinking to amount to anything , several years ago . A six pack lasts me a couple weeks and the last half pint jar lasted me a couple years .
snakehunter
12-22-2017, 09:35
A couple of years ago, before I retired, my fellow workers asked, What do you want for Xmas? I jokeing said, Moonshine. Lo and behold, on the last working day I was handed a MASON jar full of clear liquid! Smooth, best tasting stuff I've ever had. The ABC stores in Virginia now sell the stuff!
Back in the day, the moonshiners sold mason jars of 'white lightnin" for a dollar and I agree it was the smoothest booze I ever drank.
"...You can’t drink 180 proof..." Whoever told you that is confused. Or has been drinking the stuff.
"...for two hundred or more years..." Not even Stateside. What do you think was consumed in the 1820's to 1890s in the American West? Lotta the assorted salloons were rated by how good their beer and liquor tasted. Where do you think bourbon came from?
"...for $14..." Cost you more than twice that up here. Last time I looked, a 25 pounder of Courvoisier ran $50Cdn.
"...made their own beer..." Hordes of people do that. Prior to Prohibition there were far more commercial breweries too.
Last night I was at a package store so prices there are higher than a state run liquor store. They had some Ole Smokey brand MS in a mason jar packed full of maraschino cherries. Now while the cherries obviously tame and flavor the MS there probably wasn't 6oz of actual product due to the cherries. At $40 a jar that's about $7 an ounce, but you do get some spicy cherries to eat.
https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A2KLfSCORT1aR_wAdzJXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE0 Zm9yY2hxBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjQ0ODFfMQRzZW MDcGl2cw--?p=ol+smokey+moonshine+cherries&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-s
Getting back to the original post. I didn't realize so many people were into making shine and surprised to see small stills sold on ebay. I suppose the TV show/shows have popularized it. On TV I see them using a lot of solder (lead) on the copper. For that reason alone I personally would go with the SS if I were to venture into such.
Getting back to the original post. I didn't realize so many people were into making shine and surprised to see small stills sold on ebay. I suppose the TV show/shows have popularized it. On TV I see them using a lot of solder (lead) on the copper. For that reason alone I personally would go with the SS if I were to venture into such.
Real moonshiners use lead free solder. Go to the Home Distiller Forum and read "The rules we live by." Hot alcohol should never touch lead, plastic, rubber, silicone etc. The only thing hot alcohol should be able to come into contact with is copper or stainless. Plastic fermenters are OK but not for distillation. Glass is OK for the finished product but some people try to use fruit jars as "thumpers," that get very hot and that is a no-no.
Sandpebble
12-22-2017, 12:13
Damn..... all this makes me wonder about All Ya"ll .
Few months ago here on Culvers I expressed my angst that after a long post hurricane day of work I found my county had banned sales of alcohol for the post hurricane duration. Some Ahole named
S. Biggs or something loudly dubbed me an alcoholic . .... and many here at Culvers chimed in .
I used to live in Swain County N.C. ..... I'm here to tell ya.... if ya gotta sip it so slow cause its tough to gag down..... spend half the money on a nice single malt Irish... or a Patron Tequila ....need a hobby? ... carve wood or something.
Like in our youth ... home grown weed was always junk in comparison ...know what I mean?
Vern Humphrey
12-22-2017, 03:39
When I was a boy, our land adjoined that of Les Rutledge, the Robin Hood of Independence County, Arkansas. Les was a bootlegger, a principal in the Beale-Rutledge feud (he killed Joe Beale and wounded Frank Beale), shot it out with the county sheriff, and so on. He was my boyhood hero.
His grand daughter, Leslie Rutledge, is now the Attorney General of Arkansas.
aintright
12-22-2017, 05:22
Damn..... all this makes me wonder about All Ya"ll .
Few months ago here on Culvers I expressed my angst that after a long post hurricane day of work I found my county had banned sales of alcohol for the post hurricane duration. Some Ahole named
S. Biggs or something loudly dubbed me an alcoholic . .... and many here at Culvers chimed in .
I used to live in Swain County N.C. ..... I'm here to tell ya.... if ya gotta sip it so slow cause its tough to gag down..... spend half the money on a nice single malt Irish... or a Patron Tequila ....need a hobby? ... carve wood or something.
Like in our youth ... home grown weed was always junk in comparison ...know what I mean?
Wasting my time I know , but will try to clue you in , you can get a good flavor from a sip and a fraction of the consumption will get you were a mug of chugging will get you with that rot gut you are talking about .
And last I heard , most of the shiet people are smoking these days is coming from with in our borders , so I reckon that must mean it's home grown ?
Kenneth
Sandpebble
12-22-2017, 05:26
Wasting my time I know , but will try to clue you in , you can get a good flavor from a sip and a fraction of the consumption will get you were a mug of chugging will get you with that rot gut you are talking about .
And last I heard , most of the shiet people are smoking these days is coming from with in our borders , so I reckon that must mean it's home grown ?
Kenneth
Yep.... wastin yer time allright
I was stationed in s.e. Texas for a couple of years. I did have an opportunity to try some real moonshine. As I recall I was expecting the worst, but the shot was about like tequila. Really not bad and it was one of those experiences we remember from our youth. The weed around the neighborhood came from Mexico, just your average stuff. Thirty years of crop cross breeding has brought out some scary potent pot. I tried, didn't like it. I sure wouldn't mess with today's offerings.
I was stationed in s.e. Texas for a couple of years. I did have an opportunity to try some real moonshine. As I recall I was expecting the worst, but the shot was about like tequila. Really not bad and it was one of those experiences we remember from our youth. The weed around the neighborhood came from Mexico, just your average stuff. Thirty years of crop cross breeding has brought out some scary potent pot. I tried, didn't like it. I sure wouldn't mess with today's offerings.
there is some good shine out there, that stuff that bites you is not good.
Ken The Kanuck
12-22-2017, 05:53
Never had good shine, in Thailand they make some up north in the golden triangle, good for washing out cuts. In southern India they make it out of the coconut tree wine it's called Feeny and will set you on your ass. In Alaska in a town called Hyder it's called Everclear and the stuff I had made locally also tasted rough.
Maybe the southern stuff is good?
KTK
Well, Everclear's been around well, forever. Good for washing out cuts. Or as a basis for all kinds of drinks if you want to invest in $70 worth of liquors and spices. Now there's Devils cuts and Angels cut and Dead Baby Seals Tears(OK, I made that up, but a cool name huh?).
I see MS(an acronym I just learned today) in the grocery store. I doubt that is anywhere near the stuff Bubba put on Jed Clampetts truck. Oh, and to lead this off on a tangent, MS was kind of what started the whole industry of racing as we know it today, or as it was in 1955.
Oh, and to lead this off on a tangent, MS was kind of what started the whole industry of racing as we know it today, or as it was in 1955.
Bonnie and Clyde's last stolen car was a 1934 Ford with the V8 to outrun the police. The old bootleggers or whiskey runners all used the fastest cars for the same reasons usually getting away with it. As the police caught up with the times and started getting faster cars the moonshiners stayed one step ahead of them by developing faster cars and the story goes on and on till they started racing on dirt tracts and then into a profession but you probably all know more about this than I.
JB White
12-23-2017, 12:27
Bonnie and Clyde's last stolen car was a 1934 Ford with the V8 to outrun the police. The old bootleggers or whiskey runners all used the fastest cars for the same reasons usually getting away with it. As the police caught up with the times and started getting faster cars the moonshiners stayed one step ahead of them by developing faster cars and the story goes on and on till they started racing on dirt tracts and then into a profession but you probably all know more about this than I.
NASCAR and Junior Johnson....
http://sometimes-interesting.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Junior-Johnson-arrest-photo.jpghttp://afflictor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/juniorjohnson2.jpg
https://static.nascar.com/content/dam/nascar/articles/2013/07/16/main/bonnett-johnson-inset.jpg
In my part of the world moonshine is common if you know folks. $20.00 dollars a quart for white the last I heard. Apple pie and strawberry are popular at this time of year for Christmas gifts.
Many people, like my teetotaler wife swear that a tablespoon of white, lemon juice, and honey is the best medicine for cold and flu fevers.
Local sheriff just recently busted a liquor still. They kept the still for display because it was so well made. There are some small, legal distilleries in the area now with the owners having family traditions going back generations.
Former Cav
12-23-2017, 01:18
I was at a veterans reunion about 10years back and two good ole boys from KY showed up. they both had shine. One tasted worse then lighter fluid, the other one was smooth as silk and quite good.
BTW...It was illegal to make beer until 1978 I believe (at least in MN). I started making beer in 1990. two guys from work taught me how. I entered a contest and took 2nd place years ago on a Trappist Ale Dubbel that Michael Jackson the Irish beer connoisseur (not the gay singer) thought I had cloned Chimay yeast which is quite a complement.
Right now, I actually had cloned an ORVAL and it is to die for. I can't afford to buy it as it is 7 to 10 bucks for one 11.2 OZ bottle. I made 50 bottles for roughly 60 bucks.
Moonshine
Do you know a moonshiner? Moonshine has been outlawed for two hundred or more years… not for health reasons and not because it is a dangerous item to consume, but because it is a tax issue. The Fed’s love alcohol because they tax the dickens out of it. I had no idea though how popular moonshining is as a hobby in todays world.
I can go down to my local grocery store and buy a 750 ML bottle of Gem Clear 180 proof, legal, tax paid, alcohol for $14. I have a friend that can use his still and produce 750 ML of 180 proof for somewhere around $30. HELLO! He does it because it is his hobby and a science and not to avoid taxes… You can’t drink 180 proof and (I am told) it tastes like sheet. He makes a product that is 100 proof, and then “oaks,” or ages it on toasted oak chips for at least 3 days. He is doing this not to avoid taxes, not to make money, he is doing it because it is chalenging and fun and there are recipes for panty dropping shine...
The TV shows about todays moonshiners are mostly hype and BS, but there are thousands of hobbyists out there that are breaking an archaic law that should exempt individuals that produce for their own consumption.
Go to http://homedistiller.org/forum/ and read up on the hobby… You can read 24/7 for the next six months then you can do it yourself!
How many people are doing this? A proof and tralle hydrometer is only used in distilling. Look it up on eBay. The first 2 listings show over 8,500 of them have been sold in the last month.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=moonshine+stills&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l2632.R3.TR11.TRC2.A0.H4.Xmo onshine+.TRS1&_nkw=moonshine+still&_sacat=14308
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=moonshine+stills&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1311.R1.TR1.TRC0.A0.H5.Xpro of+and+tralle.TRS0&_nkw=proof+and+tralle+hydrometer&_sacat=14308
You are mistaken. Making your own boose is not illegal, perfectly legal UNTIL you sell it without paying the tax. My father did it back during prohibition, he even served it to guests but never sold it! (beer only)
I mis-spoke, if father did it during probation it was illegal, but not after Repeal.
You are mistaken. Making your own boose is not illegal, perfectly legal UNTIL you sell it without paying the tax. My father did it back during prohibition, he even served it to guests but never sold it! (beer only)
red is regularily mistaken, but not worth your breath pointing it out to him. he will just accuse you of being a liberal or something worse.
When I saw all the sales from these small stills on ebay I looked up the legalities. Apparently there are Federal laws and State laws. The feds say NO to any amount of whiskey (w/o a very costly permit) but YES if you make alcohol for your gas tank. Only Missouri is given as an example of states that OK for home use but if you wanted to actually stay legal you would need to check it out in your own state. Even in states that allow it w/o a permit you still have to obtain a federal permit. It is my understanding that beer and wine production is much less enforced for home use.
https://www.whiskeystillpro.com/blogs/news/34986945-the-truth-about-us-law-and-distilling-alcohol-at-home
https://www.whiskeystillpro.com/blogs/news/34986945-the-truth-about-us-law-and-distilling-alcohol-at-home[/QUOTE]
There has been some recent changes in the law. That moron in the White House along with other stupid Republicans included distillers in the new 2017 tax law by cutting the tax rate on a proof gallon.
“I just had an email from a craft distiller today saying ‘this is a real game-changer for us’,” Mark Gorman of the Distilled Spirits Council told WhiskyCast in a telephone interview.
https://whiskycast.com/distillers-cheer-part-of-gop-tax-reform-changes/
There is at least one State that has licensed "craft" shiners... I forget which one... It has always been legal to manufacture or make beer and wine for your own consumption. Distilling is a completely different set of laws. By Federal law, it is illegal in the U.S. to distill alcohol without an expensive license. The States don't care and I cannot find where anybody that has made a couple of quarts and drinks it has ever been prosecuted by a State.
As I said in the OP, it is virtually impossible for a hobby distiller to produce alcohol as cheaply as you can buy it. 180 proof 90% Alcohol by volume is dangerous and has no flavor. The trick is to distill and retain flavor. A pot still is butt simple but reflux and fractioning columns can be very elaborate, complicated, and difficult to manufacture.
My friend has a very basic pot still. The boiler is a stainless steel beer keg with a copper column and a Liebig cooling arm. It is a 15 1/2 gallon pony keg but he can only fill it about 1/2 full... any more than that and it might burb or puke into the column causing a possible explosion of hot alcohol. So lets say he is using a sugar wash that is 12% alcohol. He can turn that wash into about 1 quart of 50%+ ABV alcohol called the hearts. The rest is is called heads, feints, or tails. Then he takes the hearts and "oaks" them. Remember it takes 7 - 10 days to ferment the wash and another week or two for the oaking, filtering, etc.
Darreld Walton
12-27-2017, 05:05
My Granddad was running shine out of southeast Idaho, down into Utah to SLC via Logan and Ogden, in a Model T Ford "Turtle deck" roadster with a Frontenac OHV conversion. Not especially fast, but the articulation of the Model T suspension turned that car into a billy goat, going places that the police department's V8 Fords couldn't follow. Saw Grandma Walton on the side of the road with her sister in Logan, locked the brakes up, went back, introduced himself, and their progeny now populates much of the northwest. Grandpa always kept a fifth of Jack Daniels hidden under the sink where the Bishop couldn't see it, said he couldn't make it for less than what he could get bourbon out of the liquor store. I always preferred Turkey, myself, till Johnny Moon came back from leave to visit his family in Georgia. Brought back a couple of cases of the family recipe put up in quart Mason jars. There just ain't enough "O's" in smooooooooth to describe that stuff. Me, and another fella that I worked with, Jerry, a great, huge, hulking biker type, split a quart, and soon, we got to talking bikes, 4x4's, shootin' huntin' and stuff, and ended up 'belly bumpin', and talking loud enough that everyone could hear us over the music. There was a spindly little 2nd Lt. there, fresh out of the USAF Academy, who had it in his mind that Jerry and I were about to trash the place with a fist fight. Hell, we were just havin' fun! Anyhow, that LT managed to work his way in between Me and Jerry, put a hand on each of our chests, and tried to push us apart. Jerry reached out, took him by the collar, lifted him clear off the floor and let him down off to the side, out of the way. That LT never looked at either of us the same way for the next four years till he PCS'd out of FE Warren, and even once in awhile, would walk against the far side of a hallway as we passed. Good stuff, that was. I've had some that was so bad that I've had a better taste in my mouth after siphoning gas out of the neighbor's pickup.......oh, BTW, been a "friend of Bill W" for 27 years now. Didn't realize till just now that it's been that long since I pulled a cork.......
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