What is Moonshine? Everything You Need to Know About the Infamous Spirit

There’s something about moonshine that captures the public’s imagination. This mysterious spirits category has many nicknames? Homebrew, mulekick, shine, firewater, passaround, white dog, new make, sneaky pete — and those are just a few. But what is moonshine, exactly?

From a conceptual standpoint, moonshine is a unique marriage of charming Americana and intrigue due to its at times illicit nature. Maybe it’s as simple as the rebellious aspects of the production process that make it such a unique category of alcohol and garner so much attention. We’ve all passed by those jelly jars of Midnight Moon at the liquor store and been taken with them. They conjure up images of those who illegally distilled the stuff, gaining fame and notoriety. The hit show called “Moonshiners” on The Discovery Channel takes a deep dive into the world of the production process behind this mysterious liquor.

But what’s the story behind the shine? Consider this a crash course into the process, history and the illicit side of moonshine.

What is Moonshine?

The word “moonshine” is often used to refer to liquor that was illegally made, especially within a historical context. As of now — and the operative word is “now” — it is illegal in most states to home distill, so the word “moonshine” can be used to describe illegally made liquor.

Yet, more often than not, the word “moonshine” is used in a different context that has nothing to do with skirting the law. In the whiskey world, “moonshine” refers to a vodka-like spirit called “white dog.” White Dog is simply unaged whiskey, or what those in the industry refer to as a “new make” spirit.

When whiskey comes off the still, it’s clear in color, like vodka. It gains its color and much of its flavor while aging in wooden barrels. Some producers sell unaged whiskey — sometimes proofed down with water — and call it Moonshine.

Because whiskey can only be considered as such when it’s aged in barrels, white dog needs to have a different classification.

Make no mistake, the term “moonshine” can be used in context to describe illegal alcohol, and that’s where the term originated. Moonshine was often made in secret or under the light of the moon, which is how it got its distinctive name. Moonshiners would often home distill to avoid taxes or bans, most notably Prohibition, which took place in the U.S. from 1920 to 1933.

Yet in our current age, it’s growing increasingly likely that home distilling will become legal and the use of the term “moonshine” in context to describe an illicit spirits operation may become obsolete. In July, a Texas judge ruled that a law banning home distilling was unconstitutional, which means it’s highly likely that home distilling might just become legal in the very near future.

How Is Moonshine Made?

Uptown Spirits reports that Moonshine is typically made from corn, water and sugar. The corn is mashed and then cooked, often in a still.

Water and sugar are added to the mash and fermentation begins. The mixture is then boiled, and alcohol is extracted from the corn mash. Once the alcohol is extracted, the distillate is collected in a container called a receiver. A receiver can be a jar of glass or a bottle.

Eventually, the shine is filtered and sediment is removed. The moonshine is then bottled or stored in a mason jar.

What Does Moonshine Taste Like?

If you’ve ever had vodka or Everclear before, you probably have a good idea as to what moonshine tastes like.

Moonshine is a neutral grain spirit, so it tastes pretty, well, neutral. Some whiskey distilleries take pride in their moonshine and claim it offers those who partake the opportunity to taste the distillate in its purest form.

Tennessee Shine Co., a moonshine brand, reports that moonshine is best used in cocktails due to its strong, high-alcohol flavor. The shine company claims that moonshine typically tastes “earthy” and often “burns going down,” making it a type of spirit that a lot of people don’t want to drink neat. Some claim moonshine has a “sweet,” almost ethanol-driven flavor, particularly if the mashbill is high in corn content.

Yet flavors of moonshine can vary broadly across the spectrum, and a lot of it is contingent upon which grains are used in the mashbill, according to Uptown Spirits.

Food Network reports that some brands like to gussy up their moonshine and add flavorings; certain brands like Midnight Moon possess flavors like peach, strawberry, raspberry and even dill pickle.

The History of Moonshine

Moonshine has often been a symbol of rebellion, particularly in American history. Yet, its roots go back to Europe.

Per Encyclopedia Britannica, the use of the word “moonshine” dates back to the 15th century, and the term was used to refer to illegal liquor in 18th-century England. The outlet reported that the earliest references to moonshine concerned smugglers shipping cases of shine to the coasts of Kent and Sussex at that time. The reason? To avoid taxes and bans, of course.

Moonshine was produced in America within the state of Pennsylvania in 1791. The American government began taxing distilled spirits at the time, and small producers within the state could not afford to finance such a burden for distilling their wares. These early moonshiners were often poor farmers who had to travel great distances to trade and used moonshine as a form of currency.

Moonshine in the US: From The Whiskey Rebellion to Prohibition to… Mountain Dew?

These moonshiners were a scrappy group, and would even go so far as to tar and feather the elected officials who tried to impose the whiskey tax. Tensions escalated until a battle broke out called The Whiskey Rebellion. The Federal Government sent an armed militia to quell the uprising and the tax was eventually removed in 1802.

Moonshine entered the public consciousness during Prohibition, which took place in the 1920s in the U.S. In October 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, and thus the Noble Experiment was born. Yet, there’s a funny thing about strict alcohol bans — they don’t always stop people from drinking in practice, and in America, this was exactly the case. Thirsty Americans turned to moonshiners to get their “fix,” and sometimes the results were disastrous.

According to The History Channel, thousands died from drinking “bathtub gin” and “rotgut moonshine” during Prohibition. Rotgut earned its name from its foul taste, and those who drank the stuff risked the chance that they would go blind or die. Yet, during Prohibition, those who wanted to drink alcohol had very few safe choices. The U.S. Government urged liquor companies to make alcohol unsafe to drink, and encouraged them to add methyl alcohol and toxic substances to deter people from drinking. Between the U.S. government’s actions and moonshiners making sub-par hooch, over 10,000 people died.

Prohibition ended in 1933, and commercial moonshine production became legal. Moonshine was still a huge part of the public consciousness. Mountain Dew was actually made as a chaser for the stuff, according to Moonshine University. The lemon-lime-flavored soda’s name was a nod to the spirit, and it was created in Tennessee.

Over 70 years later, in 2005, America’s first legal moonshine distillery, Piedmont Distillers, began its operations and selling moonshine to the public. The spirit was housed in mason jars and the brand was called Midnight Moon.

Yet moonshiners still face legal consequences for making their spirits without paying the proper taxes to the U.S. Government. In September 2021, five moonshiners were arrested in North Carolina after authorities discovered an illegal still that produced over 9,000 gallons of moonshine. The moonshiners apparently managed to avoid paying $100,000 in federal taxes.

An Illicit Industry With Fatal Consequences

Yet, there’s still a dark side to moonshine, especially in countries with bans on alcohol.

Opportunistic moonshiners looking to cut costs will sell methanol-tainted moonshine, and the results are often fatal.

In Iran, 191 people were hospitalized and 17 people died after drinking methanol-tainted moonshine in June 2023. The country actively enforces prohibition and has banned alcohol since the Islamic Revolution which took place in 1979. Ironically, alcoholism within the country still sits at a high rate, and those looking to indulge in a drink often turn to moonshine.

A similar incident took place in June, when deadly moonshine killed 47 people in India and left over 100 hospitalized due to the fact it was tainted with methanol. Officials encouraged the state to embrace prohibition because many lower income individuals consumed moonshine regularly, risking death every time.

Though fairly simple in terms of flavor, the history and connotations surrounding moonshine are fairly complex. Perhaps this is why the spirit has intrigued so many throughout the centuries, particularly in America.

Should home-distilling become legal, the illicit narrative that surrounds moonshine will undoubtedly change – yet, the lore from centuries past will always remain.

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