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History of Moonshine

The governmental taxing of whiskey and illegal distilling is not a

Suteck 5 Gal Moonshine
Still Spirits Kit 18L Water new thing. The Whisky Rebellion of 1791 was a result of the
Alcohol Dis… Congress under President George Washington laying a tax on
$214.00
alcohol. Most of the distillers of the time were farmers who lived
(61)
in remote areas where it was difficult to get their grain to market.
Their excess grain was distilled. The “Whiskey Boys” of
Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina
protested the tax, sometimes violently. Tennessee and Kentucky,
not yet in existence, offered safe haven for distillers or they too
would have been a part of the protests.
Seeutek 5 Gallon 18 litres
Home Alcohol Water The violence turned to armed rebellion in 1794. One
Distiller Copper…
$169.00 tax collector had his head shaved, his horse stolen and was then
(113) tarred and feathered. Washington responded with a sizable
militia ordered into the countryside to arrest and detain the
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rabble. The suppression of the rebellion proved unpopular and
became a detriment to the Federalist Party. The whisky tax was
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repealed in 1803.
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 The Civil War found a
learntomoonshine new whisky tax instituted
to fund the Federal
Government. The
extremely high taxes
were as much as eight
times the cost of the
liquor itself. Small
distillers began hiding in
the backwoods in order to avoid the taxes. The Revenue Bureau
of the Treasury Department transformed their “collectors” into a
policing authority. The Moonshiners and Revenuers were born.

From these early days of resistance to taxes we move into the

early 1900s when the sale of alcohol was actually made illegal in
many places. In an odd incongruity, the production of moonshine
actually increased as more local municipalities heeded the
outcries of the prohibition and temperance movements to make
the sale of alcohol a crime. Prohibition also lowered the
standards of quality as producers concentrated on making larger
amounts to meet the increased demand. This substandard shine
was termed “Mean Whisky” and could result in serious injury or
even death. One medical problem, known as Jake Leg Syndrome,
caused partial paralysis of the feet and legs after consuming a
drink called Jake. Because of the underground nature of the
business, health concerns were often ignored. Contaminants,
bacteria, and poisonous additives sometimes created a potential
danger to the consumer.

moonshine culture in Appalachia

 Popcorn Sutton

Another moonshiner hailed as a hero in Maggie Valley was

recently in the news again. Marvin
“Popcorn” Sutton,
age 61,
committed suicide on March 16, 2009 rather than serve time in a
Load More... Federal Prison for yet another arrest. Popcorn, who at the time of
his demise lived near Parrotsville, Tennessee in the Appalachian
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Instagram Mountains, came from a long line of moonshiners in western
North Carolina. According to him, “the heyday of moonshining
was from 1965 to 1972 when you could buy likker about every
My Top Book Picks 200 feet in places.”

One of Popcorn’s last arrests was in 2007 when a fire broke out
at his home in Parrotsville and his stills were discovered. He was
fined and sentenced to two years probation. He was arrested
again in 2008 and at trial his illegal activities all the way back into
the 1970s was presented.

He was sentenced to serve time and would have likely spent only
a year or so in prison. He stubbornly refused to accept such
treatment and committed suicide. Today he is a local folk hero
for his mountain ways, rugged individualism and likker making
skills.

Moonshining Today

In the 1950s moonshining was quite prevalent in the south. In

the decade of 1954 to 1964 more than 72,000 stills were
destroyed by federal agents in North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

But likker makin’ still goes on. A “white liquor” distiller in

Wilkesboro was arrested in October 2009 and 929 gallons of
 moonshine was confiscated. Two brothers were arrested in
Whitakers, North Carolina with 460 quarts of shine in November
2009. And in December 2009 community activist Gewndolyn
Brown-Johnson of Charlotte was arrested for selling moonshine
out of her child day care center. The distiller, 82 year-old Ervin
Preston Finger, was arrested with 80 gallons of the hooch.
Brown-Johnson said she didn’t know what was in the bag that the
agent paid $80 for.

Today you can legally buy a part of the past with a purchase of
Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine. This triple-distilled flavor
moonshine is made in Madison, North Carolina and is totally
legal. In shine circles the term Catdaddy described “the best of
the best”.

Laws Surrounding Making Moonshine

Real moonshine comes in two “flavors” – legal and illegal. The

essential difference is one is taxed and one is not. It’s all about
the taxes. You can go into most any liquor store and buy
moonshine such as Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey, Platte Valley
Corn Whiskey or Catdaddy. The federal tax on a gallon of whiskey
is $15.50.

It is legal to own a still; you can buy one online for less than $800.
But if you want to produce any alcohol in your still, even for your
own personal consumption, you need a federal permit. Under
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the alternative fuels law, you can make up to 10,000 gallons a
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“Yes, you can have a still, but it must be permitted and you can
produce spirits for fuel use only,” said Art Resnick, director of
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public and media affairs for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and
Trade Bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. “Let’s make this
Be the first of your friends to
like this perfectly clear: It’s illegal to make moonshine, which is untaxed
spirits.”
 Even if a person wanted to make moonshine at home and pay
Recent Posts federal taxes, it’s not that simple. It requires a federal distiller’s
Constructing a Spirit Still license and is cost-prohibitive for anyone other than a business.
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Because of the difficulties in legally distilling your own spirits, a
popular new home brewing underground is developing. Artisans
are now busy making small batches of “craft” moonshine. The
main idea is to create good tasting hooch for personal
consumption rather than to produce large amounts for sale. This
is still illegal. Oddly, home brewers can legally make beer and
wine for personal use, but distilling liquor on an unlicensed still is
a felony punishable with a $10,000 fine and up to 5 years in a
federal penitentiary.
Why the difference between beer/wine and liquor? Money …. tax
money to be specific. A bottle of whiskey is taxed more than $2
while the same size bottle of wine is about 20 cents. Beer is 5
cents a can. It is possible to obtain a license after going through
reams of paperwork and spending some $20,000, but that is
hardly worth it for the backyard distiller.
Names For Moonshine:

Flavoring and Aging
Home Distilling Laws
How To Make A Still
How To Make Wash
Other names for moonshine include: Branch Water, White
Lightning, Kickapoo, Moonshine, Happy Sally, Ruckus Juice, Joy
Juice, Hooch, Panther’s Breath, Mountain Dew, Hillbilly Pop, Skull
Cracker, Bush Wisky, Stump, Mule Kick, Catdaddy, Cool Water,
Old Horsey, Rot Gut, Wildcat, Rise’n Shine and Splo.

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2 Responses to "History of Moonshine"
Moonshine Drink Recipes

Moonshine Recipes
clarence darrah says:
Other Resources December 25, 2016 at 5:44 pm
 my grand dad made a home brew with out a still,a crock,,hops ,tators and a
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few other forgotten ingrediants,,would anybody know if this was just the
Theory mash?? or a differant brew????

Types of Stills
Reply

Uncategorized

Vodka Recipes

Whiskey Recipes Andrew Lamb says:

May 25, 2017 at 7:44 pm

Check Us Out On Sounds like your Grand Dad is making “Beer”.

Pinterest!
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