Posted on 06/05/2023 7:14:13 AM PDT by Red Badger
(Last Updated On: May 26, 2023)
NATIONAL MOONSHINE DAY | JUNE 5
Every June 5th National Moonshine Day recognizes a beverage with a notorious record of blurring the lines of history and the law, turning ordinary men (and women) into criminals and common criminals into legends.
#NationalMoonshineDay
Moonshine traditionally is an illegally distilled spirit. Mostly made from a corn mash, moonshine is a distilled whiskey that is typically produced by an individual illegally without a permit. Also known as white lightning, mountain dew, homebrew, hillbilly pop, rotgut, and too many more to list here.
Prohibition
Distilling skills first came to the United States with the Scotch-Irish as they settled in Virginia.
Temperance laws and prohibition legislation were passed in several states before the Civil War, but it wasn’t until the turn of the century that the temperance movement picked up steam. By the time the 18th Amendment was ratified early in 1919, over half the country was dry.
Prohibition lasted 13 years. It created a demand for moonshine, unlike any that may have existed before. Moonshine became big business overnight.
Modern Moonshine
These days, moonshine in the legal sense has a following. Small-batch distilleries are producing legal moonshine giving moonshiners a new name. Bringing moonshine out of the woods and going up against other whiskeys for a place on the shelf. Many are packaging their homebrews in canning jars, embracing their rich history while at the same time experimenting with flavor and branching out with food pairing similar to that of wine and beer.
Trivia
Shepherd was Uncle Jesse’s CB handle on the Dukes of Hazzard. Sweet Tillie was the name of his Ford LTD/Galaxie in the first episode – his moonshine runner.
The X’s on the moonshine jugs symbol represents the number of times a batch was run through the still. If marked XXX, the moonshine is pure alcohol.
What do Esther Clark, Edna Giard, Stella Beloumant, Mary Wazeniak all have in common? They were all bootleggers. Bootlegging was an equal opportunity profession.
Lavinia Gilman was a bootlegger, too. At 80 years old, she ran a 300 gallon still in Montana. The judge suspected her son was the real culprit, though.
During prohibition, there were many ways to transport bootlegged moonshine. Faking a funeral was a convenient ruse to move the product. Out of respect for the dead, of course, those with the badge were reluctant to stop a funeral procession.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL MOONSHINE DAY
Share your favorite whispered histories of the white lightning and the legendary people who made it and chased it. Drink responsibly and use #NationalMoonshineDay to share on social media.
NATIONAL MOONSHINE DAY HISTORY
Within our research, we were unable to identify the founder of National Moonshine Day.
Sip Ping!...............
There are two kinds of moonshine:
1: lovin’ liquor
2: fighting’ liquor
The problem is you can’t tell which is which by the smell or taste.
George Jones - White Lightning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE5pM1HXxlI
(Daisy Moses) Granny:
“When I was a girl back in Tennessee, I set so many boys hearts on fire, that they took to callin’ that neck of the woods...the Smoky Mountains.”
I have know a couple of guys in my life that were very ‘normal’ sane people until they got a little liquor in them.
Then they wanted to fight anybody and everybody.
I don’t know why, but the alcohol made them crazy.
One guy where I used to work was eventually banned by every bar in town. He came to work one Monday morning with black eyes and scrapes on his face and his pickup had broken mirrors and headlights.
Seems that the had gotten drunk and challenged the wrong guy to a fight in the parking lot, and the guy mopped the parking lot up with him................BUT it did not stop him from doing it again and again until he was banned.......
What your describing there are happy or mean drunks.....and yes, you don’t know.... until it’s too late. 😏
I used to keep a jar sitting next to the couch to sip on while watching a ball game...
A bunch of us guys who hunted together had a get together in the mountains one Friday night...
When I got home, I told my wife I saw the devil come out of my jar of “shine...We laughed about it then...My 5 year old son heard this...
Two or three months later, we were having a dinner with our preacher and folks from church....Things got quiet and my son spoke out...
“Guess what!!! My daddy saw the devil come out of his jar of moonshine!!!”
Things REALLY got quiet then...LOL
And the preacher thought, “I’ve got to find out where he got it!”.......😉
I would not have been surprised...LOL
Well, it takes at least an hour between batches.................
I used to drink A LOT and I would be the happy drunk.
And there’s not enough of the kind you were and waaay too many of the other. LOL!
A moment of silence, if you please, for Popcorn Sutton.
If my grandfather was still alive... LOL
Thanks for reminding me there’s a jar of 100 proof peppermint ‘shine in the freezer just for hot weather! Perfect day for it.
Good thing you don’t live in Florida!.....................
Also called corn top or bust head.
...and Rheumatis’ Medicine..............
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