Have you ever tried Moonshine?

New Year's eve is here, people will be partaking in libations tonight, Not myself, I've not had an adult berverage in 19 years.  My question to the forum members is, Have you ever drinked Moonshine and how was it?  

I'm a fan of the TV show "Moonshiners".  I'm curious at the high cost of Moonshine, which is higher than bonded liquor.  They talk about how good it is, their secret recipies and their novel methods of distilling.  Is it better than legal distilleries product?  If it is better than legal booze, how can that be? 

I did drink Moonshine 50 years ago, all I remember is, you could hold it up to a light and see bat wings floating in it.

Yep. They make it around here. As a teen growing up it was easier to get than alcohol sold at the liquor store.  Nowadays around here they delude it down with something fruity or spicy as most people can't stomach it straight.

Party pooper alert:

Moonshine (the real stuff) was a known cause of kidney failure way back in the day, depending on which car radiator was used for the still and amount of consumption.  Metal leached from the radiator into the product.  'Mad hatter syndrome'...metal poisoning...mental derangement...lead in paint was a culprit.

I'd not heard about today's product.

Candy

America's first civil conflict--the Whisky Rebellion of 1791! Moonshinin' was an honorable trade back then--and then the gol-dang gummint started taxing it!

The stuff was borderline poisonous back then, just like today. The toxicity of the product largely depended on whether the still was made of lead or iron components or of copper coils and such. The latter was easier to work with but was much more expensive. Copper didn't leach into the product the way lead and iron did.

Apparently, nowadays, moonshine is one of those mountain folk craft products, like quilts or wooden furniture. I imagine you need a license to manufacture and sell it.

Kevin Lewis imagines: " . . . you need a license to manufacture and sell it."

Actually, the Feds still consider making and selling distilled spirits, [or] even [just] for "family use" serious business requiring a Federal license.  

And additional State laws vary.

. . . . . quote . . . . . 

If a person wishes to legally distill alcohol, they have two options. The first option is to obtain a Federal Distilled Spirits Permit. This is the permit that industry giants like Jack Daniels and Makers Mark distilleries possess, which makes it legal for them to distill and distribute to the public. 

Option two is a Federal Fuel Alcohol Permit (link below), which is free and easy to get. We've never heard of anyone being denied the permit and have never heard of anyone even being checked up on. Just be advised that the feds will expect that you're putting your alcohol in you lawnmower, and not drinking it!

[boldface added - DD]

Federal law provides no exemptions for the production of distilled spirits for personal or family use. Under no circumstances should you ever distil or sell alcohol without a permit. If you choose to distill alcohol, make sure to obtain all applicable fuel or spirit permits (see link below - DD). Additionally, check your state laws and make sure that owning and / or operating a still is permissible.

. . . endquote . . . .

Ref: Is Making Moonshine Legal

You can actually buy commercially manufactured moonshine.   They used to carry it at a few bars in my area.  I know there's a place in Gatlinberg, TN that sells it by the bottle too.    

Moonshine is just unrefined whiskey that has not been aged in a barrell.      It does not taste good but the people who drink aren't in it for the taste.

I tried it over 40 years ago as a young police recruit in Kentucky. To me, it basically tasted like Everclear. Not a fan.

I believe that Moonshine is, by definition, an illegally distilled spirit.  Someone can legally make the stuff and call it "Moonshine", but it isn't Moonshine. 

My big question is why buy moonshine when bonded booze is cheaper.  Possibly the moonshine is of such a high proof, bootleggers can proof it down to increase the quanity and lower the price.  "Moonshiners" TV show shows the emphasis the participants put on taste.  

A side note,  I was working in Saudi a few years ago, there was remnants of an old still in our compound.  A friend offered me some "Sadiki", Saudi moonshine.  I declined.

I believe that bonded vodka is cheaper than Moonshine, which is surprising since there is about $15 per gallon tax on 100 proof legal booze.  The main objective of legal vodka producers is to use the finest distillation equipment and filtering sytems to come up with the purest and cleanest ethanol.  The large producers easily make a 190 proof product, and can dry if further to 200 proof.  These large plants can produce very high quality and consistent vodka via a continuous process, vs the less consistent batch process.  The vodka products can be modified with proprietary additives, flavorants, by adding fruit, etc..  In a previous job, we brought in 26,000 gallon railcars of beverage grade ethanol (aka vodka), which we denatured, making it undrinkable.  We sold this stuff to paint, ink, printing, pharma companies and others.  No tax is paid when using ethanol for industrial purposes, and the price tends to run about $2.50/gallon for 200 proof product.

I think that making whiskey, Tequila and other such products requires more or different skill, "art" and knowledge than producing vodka.