Moonshine holds a unique and somewhat contradictory place in U.S. history. Moonshiners regularly spread inaccurate information, while the whiskey industry misleads prospective buyers with half-truths. If you asked a moonshiner purist what “white lightning” is, they say it’s unaged, corn-based whiskey with high alcohol content.
Since it is affordable and easy to make, it has become an industry in the South, as many try their hand at homemade distillation. However, it is best to leave the production to experts who have a passion for purity and a desire to create sensations that will satisfy even the pickiest palates. Since it’s a sweet corn product, moonshine is a natural for adding flavors, including fruit and spices, mixed by master distillers with a genuine passion for their craft.
Moonshine is an alcoholic drink that is typically made from corn, sugar, and water. The corn is mashed, and then the sugar and water are added. This mixture is then boiled. The alcohol content of moonshine can be as high as 95%, which is significantly higher than the alcohol content of most other types of liquor.
Let’s Look at the Process
- Distillers grind the corn into cornmeal. Some moonshiners use hog feed because it is corn-based, easy to find, and draws minimal attention.
- They then soak the cornmeal in hot water in the still. Moonshiners traditionally added malt to convert the corn meal’s starch into sugar. Others added sugar or grain.
- Next, they add yeast to begin fermentation. The distillers then heat the mash in the still while stirring thoroughly. In this still, all the metal pipes are copper because it’s a good heat conductor and does not leach into the alcohol.
- Distillers then heat stone furnaces under the still to approximately 172 degrees celsius. Moonshiners traditionally heated their stills with wood, coal, or even steam, but since the 1950s, most have used propane.
- By now, the alcohol has already begun to evaporate. When the still builds pressure, it forces alcohol steam out of a pipe on top. A moonshiner might use a thump keg — a barrel heated to high temperatures and stuffed with steam. As some saturate from the mash drops into the keg, it causes a thumping noise, hence the name “thump keg.” Re-evaporation of the alcohol filters out the mash in the barrel. In order to amp up the strength of the drink, they may use undistilled mash or extra alcohol.
- The steam passes through the worm — a coiled cable winding down the inside of the boiler. Keeping the worm in a constant flow of cold water helps condense the alcohol steam into liquid form.
- They connect a bucket to the end of the worm after one last filter. After that, the clear liquid is ready for bottling and selling.
What’s the Best Way to Enjoy Moonshine?
Shine is a drink most people enjoy sipping with friends or family while keeping it from relatives who had found Jesus. Moonshine, or unaged whiskey, is renown in America as a renegade spirit. During prohibition, many consumed illegally in tenements of New York City and the hollows of Kentucky and West Virginia.
Because of its signature burn and earthy flavor, the once illicit spirit never gained popularity among bartenders. Despite the reputation, here are the best mixers for moonshine.
How to Make Moonshine
FAQ
Is there 100% alcohol in moonshine?
What is Kentucky moonshine made of?
What is moonshine made of?
Moonshine is usually made from either fruits or grains. People would traditionally use any types of fruit or grains that can be easily accessed in a particular place and time. However, most of the Moonshine that we have today would usually use corn as an easily available source of fermentable sugar. Is Moonshine Illegal?
What is the alcohol content of moonshine?
Moonshine is typically distilled from corn into moonshine liquor and has an alcohol content between 40% and 50% but sometimes reaches over 95% ABV. Moonshine is a distilled spirit, typically made at home from ingredients like sugar and yeast. Moonshine is loved by people since it has a very high alcohol content and thus can make people drunker.
What is moonshine distilled from?
Since this beverage was typically made at night by the light of the moon, it became known as “moonshine.” Moonshine is typically distilled from corn into moonshine liquor and has an alcohol content between 40% and 50% but sometimes reaches over 95% ABV. Moonshine is a distilled spirit, typically made at home from ingredients like sugar and yeast.
What is moonshine whiskey?
Historically, moonshine is a clear and unaged whiskey and was therefore typically alcohol distilled from grain. As you’ll learn in our main overview of moonshine, the practice and the name predates the USA’s Eighteenth Amendment. Consequently, most countries have their own methods and preferred ingredients.