Moonshine is a common term for home-distilled alcohol, especially in places where this practice is illegal.
The name is often assumed to be derived from the fact that moonshine producers and smugglers would often work at night (i.e. under the light of the moon). The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose, defines "moonshine" as follows: "A matter or mouthful of moonshine; a trifle, nothing. The white brandy smuggled on the coasts of Kent and Sussex, and the gin in the north of Yorkshire, are also called moonshine. " It has been suggested that the term might derive from smugglers' explaining away their boxes and barrels as "mere moonshine" (that is, nothing).
Production
Moonshine is any distilled spirit made in an unlicensed still. As with all distilled spirits, yeast ferments a sugar source to produce ethanol, then the alcohol is extracted through distillation using a still.
Because of its illegal nature, moonshine is rarely aged in barrels like bourbon, and it sometimes contains impurities and off flavors, but very rarely toxins such as methanol. The off flavors may come from improper mashing, fermentation and/or distillaton. In popular culture, moonshine is usually presented as being extremely strong and in North America is commonly associated with the Southern United States, Appalachia and Atlantic Canada. Moonshining is usually done using small-scale stills. Typically, the still is built by the moonshine producer, thus avoiding the legal ramifications of obtaining a still commercially. The pot still is the traditional choice, being popular with early moonshine producers due to its simplicity and ease of construction. However, more efficient reflux stills are available to the modern moonshiner, either self-built, assembled from a kit, or purchased fully assembled. Lately, DIY-still designs have become widely available on the Internet. "Moonshine" and "Still Making Moonshine" are two documentaries that depict the life of a modern Appalachian moonshiner, the making of a three stage still out of sheets of copper, putting up corn mash, and running whiskey.
Uses
Usually, large scale illicit distillation is associated with the making of ethanol for drinking, however it is also practiced for creating biofuel .
Safety
Badly-produced moonshine can be contaminated with toxins, mainly from materials used in construction of the still. Stills employing used automotive radiators as a condenser are particularly dangerous; in some cases, glycol products from antifreeze used in the radiator can appear as well. Radiators used as heaters also may contain lead at the connections to the plumbing. Both glycol and lead are poisonous and potentially deadly.
Although methanol is not produced in toxic amounts by fermentation of sugars from grain starches, contamination is still possible by unscrupulous distillers using cheap methanol to increase the apparent strength of the product. Moonshine can be made both more palatable and less damaging by removing the "foreshot" which contains most of the methanol, if any, from the mash . This is possible because methanol vaporizes at a lower temperature than ethanol. The foreshot also typically contains small amounts of other undesirable compounds such as acetone and various aldehydes.
Any alcohol over 100 US proof (i.e. 50% ABV) is flammable. This is especially true during the distilling process in which vaporized alcohol can accumulate in the air if there is not enough ventilation. This fact is referenced in John Sturges' The Great Escape : to celebrate the Fourth of July, Virgil Hilts and two other Americans distil moonshine from potato skins. While dispensing the drink, Hilts advises the other POWs not to smoke while or after drinking it.
Mixtures
Occasionally moonshine is mixed with flavoring agents or compounds intended to increase the apparent alcohol content, such as methanol. Sometimes, usually due to the ignorance and/or heartlessness of the producer, this results in a toxic mixture. Results may be capable of causing blindness or death. While poisoning incidents are rare, particularly in developed nations, together with the lack of regulation of moonshine production, they are cause for concern about the safety of moonshine.
In the past moonshine has been mixed with beading oil or lye to fool people into believing that it is of a higher proof. This is because when shaken, bubbles form on the surface relative to the alcoholic strength (known as "the bead"). Large bubbles with a short duration indicate higher proof.
Flavoring Mixtures might consist of fruits, or even bark. The mash may be cooked through birch bark to achieve a mint like flavor. The product might be cooked through a screen of fruit to achieve a fruit like flavor. Fruits may be added to the liquor to add this flavor; however, it may not be as strong of flavor.
Tests
A common "folk" quality test for moonshine was to pour a small quantity of it into a metal spoon and set it alight, the theory being that safe distillate burns with a blue flame, but tainted distillate burns with a yellow flame. Practitioners of this simple test sometimes held that if a radiator coil had been used as a condenser there would be lead in the alcohol, which would give a reddish flame. This led to the phrase: "Lead burns red and makes you dead." While the flame test shows the presence of lead and fusil oils, it does not reveal the presence of methanol, which also burns blue.
Another test used for moonshine is to "proof". A small amount of gun powder is poured in a dish with the moonshine. It is ignited and if the mixture starts to flame it is "proofed." In other words if it lights then it contains a good amount of alcohol, but if it does not flame the moonshine has been diluted. Note that this only proves the alcohol to be at least 57.15% ABV.
Moonshine by country
Albania
In Albania moonshine (Raki) is the primary alcoholic beverage men consume on daily basis. it can be produced from various fruits, like grapes, prunes, apples, etc.
Armenia
The Armenian name for moonshine is aragh (the word comes from Arabic araq عرق, meaning "sweat" or "juice"), but the Armenian word oghee is used more often. The production of oghee is widespread in Armenia. White mulberry, grape, cornelian cherry, plum, and apricot moonshine are especially popular, particularly in the countryside.
Australia
Distillation of alcohol requires an excise license in all states except for NSW, in Australia. The sale of stills up to 5 litre capacity and other distilling equipment, including yeasts, flavorings and other ingredients specific to distillation, is legal. Brewery supply stores have permission to sell stills up to 25l
Brazil
In Brazil there is a long tradition of home distilling, especially in the rural areas. Artisanal liquors (especially cachaça made on small farms) tend to be of good quality and are prized by collectors.
One form that can be qualified as moonshine is known as "Maria Louca" ("Crazy Mary"). It's aguardente made in jails by inmates. It can be made from many cereals, ranging from beans to rice or whatever can be converted into alcohol, be it fruit peels or candy, using improvised and illegal equipment.
Bulgaria
The national spirit in Bulgaria is called "rakia" . It is usually made from grapes, but other fruits are used as well, such as plum, raspberry or peach. Rakia is the most popular drink in Bulgaria along with wine. Like wine, it is often produced by villagers, either in a community owned (public) still, or in simpler devices at home. Home made rakia is considered to be of better quality and "safer" than rakia made in factories, since there were, especially during the 1990s, many counterfeit products on sale. By tradition, distilling a certain amount of rakia for home use has been free of taxes. In connection with Bulgaria joining the European Union in 2007, there were government decisions to raise taxes on home made spirits. This led to protests in late 2006 and early 2007. With respect to local traditions and the usually poor performance of state institutions in Bulgaria, there is little risk that the new taxes will actually have to be paid. In Bulgarian tradition, drinking ракия is accompanied by eating little dishes (called meze ), usually some kind of salad, e.g. Shopska salad. Rakia also has many uses as a folk medicine.
Myanmar
Burma (Myanmar) has several forms of moonshine. Although it is illegal, moonshine has majority share of the alcohol market especially in rural areas of the country. In the country side, moonshine shares the alcohol market with what some call palm wine.
Canada
The common name for home-made alcohol is moonshine or screech (although the latter name is also used by a legal distiller as a brand name). Early versions were probably made from potato skins due to the large amount of potatoes produced on Prince Edward Island but now most home producers use molasses or sugar cane in the form of "sweet feed" (for horses) as a sugar source. This is the traditional method of producing Moonshine (Shine as it is known to those that produce,or drink it regularly).
Due to the fact that they are producing "Shine" in the traditional manner(molasses, and cane sugars),The Myriad View Artisan Distllery of
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