Question about moonshine.

[Andy W]

Some moonshiners will put different types of fruit in the jar to flavor it, apple, peach, etc.

 

[mroyal98]

I know NOTHING!!!

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Charlie Sherrel is very quiet...........

 

[s&wchad]

Thirty years ago, people actually came to Michigan for work. We had an older fellow from Kentucky who worked in the plant and went back home on weekends. One day after work he produced a large mason jar and offered me a drink. I was reluctant to try it, so he lit some on fire and explained how the color of the flame tells you whether it’s safe or not.

“If the flame’s blue, the whiskey’s true. If the flame’s yellow, it’ll kill a fellow.”

Great… wisdom to bet your life on! … but, he was drinking it and I didn‘t want to be rude, so… HOLY CRAP! That first drink is quite the experience. After all the nerve endings in your mouth are completely destroyed, it’s really quite smooth! I think he said he usually cut it with 7-Up. My advice is to never be the first to drink out of a jar. Fortunately, it’s not common around these parts (or at least I haven‘t heard of it).

 

[handejector]

White liquor is not inherently bad. The Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, etc, that you pay big bucks for is white liquor till it goes in a charred oak barrel for years. THAT is where the color and most of the flavor comes from- charred oak.

Most shiners are proud of their ability, and, like most cooks, constantly strive for a better product. Very few have EVER used a radiator or lead solder in their stills. It 'jus' ain't right.'

Pour good liquor in a glass, add a splash of spring water (NO chlorine, PLEASE), and "git ready to fix all the worl's problems."

 

[yourang?]

not much of an expert on 'shine, but i have had
some home made grappa

grappa is made from the leavings of the crushed
grape/juice from a "first run" of wine

add sugar and water (1 gal water to two pounds
sugar) and "run" it again....it is called second
wine...which can either be drunk after sitting
around for a bunch of months or so....actually
comes ready faster than first wine, as it is much lighter...kinda like a rose....but that
"second run" can be distilled and turned into
grappa....which is basically grape based shine
no need to add yeast as the leavings are filled
with those yeastie beasties.....

i have a friend who is pretty good at it...
have tried some and it is a force to be reckoned
with....very nasty taste till you never get used
to it....but it is slightly grapey...but it
kicks like a mule!

i stick to making wine....no need to cook anything for me! but it is fun

(alcohol is basically yeast excrement....and the
beasties pollute where they live till the mash
is toxic and they kill themselves, which is why
wine gets to about 12 percent alcohol and no
more)....what a way to go!

 

[Miss Fire]

Originally posted by handejector:
White liquor is not inherently bad. The Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, etc, that you pay big bucks for is white liquor till it goes in a charred oak barrel for years. THAT is where the color and most of the flavor comes from- charred oak.

Most shiners are proud of their ability, and, like most cooks, constantly strive for a better product. Very few have EVER used a radiator or lead solder in their stills. It 'jus' ain't right.'

Pour good liquor in a glass, add a splash of spring water (NO chlorine, PLEASE), and "git ready to fix all the worl's problems."

Whatcha waterin' it down fer?

 

[animalmother]

Have never consumed any, but I do enjoy movies about the subject.

 

[rburg]

Originally posted by handejector:
Very few have EVER used a radiator or lead solder in their stills. It 'jus' ain't right.'

Y'all must have the upper crust of 'shiners down in yer hills. When a good ole boy was out of work, they cut a few corners to turn a nice profit.

Its what distinguished the artists from the commercial cooks.

As for the color and flavor, I kind of agree. But modern distilleries run their batch off a couple of times to get the proof up to where they want it. Many if not most moonshiners are happy anytime they can get beads to dance on the top, or get a nice flame (maybe 100 proof, since that has always been the standard where it can sustain a flame.) Most likkor from the holler is expected to be sipped as run off and bottled.

Commercial grade whiskey is usually in the neighborhood of 150 proof. It actually gets stronger with storage. Apparently more of the water works its way out through the wood than alcohol. But you can still tell bourbon from rye or other swill, and even if they're aged in identical barrels.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

The last sample that I had was at my brother's house. Someone gave him a free sample.


When I was in my 20's I knew a guy that made moonshine close to Kiln MS (Brett Farve's Hometown). He told me that he would mix the still runs until an egg would float in the solution. At this point the mix would be around 110 proof. He also said that he would carry the shine from the still in a charred keg to where he bottled it. By the time he got out of the woods, and after all of the sloshing around in the keg in the back of the pickup, the shine would have some color and would be considered "aged".

 

[The Highlander]

Ahhh, my other favorite subject.

Y'all may have heard of a feller named Junior Johnson. He got a little famous nationally racin' cars, then build'en um fer other fine drivers like Darrell Waltrip (DW to us). Junior got his start in Wilkes County, NC. His daddy was a famous 'shiner for years. If I still have my story correct, Senior's still operation was the largest single raid in Federal history at least at the time.

Junior got caught once too, in a footrace with feds. He was NEVER caught in a car. The late lamented Ronald Reagan pardoned Mr. Johnson, just so he could vote again.

Cut to the present, Mr. Johnson is making a legal version of his whiskey now. Go to your favorite spirits dealer and ask for it. No, it isn't as good as the real thing (I'm told), but it aint a bit bad either.

The Highlander

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Some of the bset shine I ever tasted came from a good friend of mine whi also happened to be a Catholic Priest (and at the time om pastor). It came from "somewhere around Kiln-but don't tell anyone) and was as smooth as newly waxed.........well you know

Might be the same place that Joe & Charlie get theis sippin' from.

 

[model10]

with the way the ecomy is couneing to it maybe a big bussness again , sure hell aaint hard to do

 

[ingmansinc]

Originally posted by rewster:
And you were only 22 at the time

I acturlie din't get out of hygh schhol untile I was twenity fivie. But you muste realise I wass frome Ohio.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

Originally posted by The Highlander:
Ahhh, my other favorite subject.

Y'all may have heard of a feller named Junior Johnson. He got a little famous nationally racin' cars, then build'en um fer other fine drivers like Darrell Waltrip (DW to us). Junior got his start in Wilkes County, NC. His daddy was a famous 'shiner for years. If I still have my story correct, Senior's still operation was the largest single raid in Federal history at least at the time.

Junior got caught once too, in a footrace with feds. He was NEVER caught in a car. The late lamented Ronald Reagan pardoned Mr. Johnson, just so he could vote again.

Cut to the present, Mr. Johnson is making a legal version of his whiskey now. Go to your favorite spirits dealer and ask for it. No, it isn't as good as the real thing (I'm told), but it aint a bit bad either.

The Highlander

I had another college buddy from Georgia. He used to run a bit in Georgia before he came to Southern Miss to go to college. His car was a 1964 427 with 2 4 barrels and a 4 speed. He had switches on the dash hat would let him turn the tail lights off while leaving the headlights on.

He was into fast cars. Another jewel was a 1968 302 Camaro. This was one of 500 produced for Trans Am racing back then. It was the predecessor to the Z28.

 

[alagreg5]

There's a batch of 'shine currently circulating among our local moonshine experts that's supposedly from a still in Tennessee. It is perfectly clear but has both an odor and taste of peach. It has earned the "SBD" rating - smooth but deadly. It's so easy to drink that you end up sloppy drunk before you know you have a buzz.

 

[The Highlander]

It's really common to add many kinds of fruit to flavor the 'shine. My grandfather made it for his own consumption decades ago. He supposedly made the best in the community. Somebody talked him into selling some once. He said it was like watching his children leave and swore to never sell another drop!

 

[The Highlander]

You know, parenthethically, the old shiners were generally well-respected people in the community. Mostly the lifestyle has gone away now and been replaced by the drug and crime infested pot growers. We read at least once a month in the summer about a pot raid injuring law enforcement or innocent people just walking up and getting caught by the booby-traps these pieces of human crap set.

 

[Careby]

Originally posted by The Highlander:
You know, parenthethically, the old shiners were generally well-respected people in the community. Mostly the lifestyle has gone away now and been replaced by the drug and crime infested pot growers. We read at least once a month in the summer about a pot raid injuring law enforcement or innocent people just walking up and getting caught by the booby-traps these pieces of human crap set.

My family tree includes both moonshiners and revenuers. There was plenty of violence on both sides, and sometimes "innocent people just walking up" on a still were never seen or heard from again. No need to glamorize the lifestyle or elevate it to a level above the current "drug war". In both cases government interference in the manufacture and distribution of a product in demand by consumers resulted in illegal profit opportunities and the creation of criminal enterprises (or criminalization of existing legitimate enterprises) and subsequent law enforcement problems.

 

[29aholic]

I used to haul shine out of AR years ago but quit when the old man died and his kids took over...they were in to quantity not quality.

Personally I am leery of shine that is flavored with anything. Applejack is different cuz it is made from apples, but I worry if someone has to flavor it there is something wrong with. Good made corn squeezins dont need no flavor