Moonshining in the Blue Ridge

[Molalla1]

Don't you have kin folk in Virginia?

South Carolina . . . and actually Kentucky . . . from years ago.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Like I said, I don't drink myself, but when pouring this from half gallon jars to 12 oz jars I had just a tea spoon left. I pulled it into my mouth to taste and my tongue went numb, not to mention I couldn't breathe for a few seconds. This stuff is no joke. The Apple Pie if much more mellow and smells so good I can at least take a few small sips without slipping into a coma...

That's probably up there, maybe 180-190 proof. I've always heard 200 (100%) is impossible once opened moisture in the air would dilute it some.
Years ago we were at wife's aunt/uncle's house, uncle has some in his fridge in basement. There was a knock at door, a neighbor friend comes in, asks for some. Takes a great big swig out of the Mason jar...says "Hoooooo-weeeeeee!!!!!" then staggers back home. I don't see how he did it straight like that.
Years ago there was a Franklin county moonshiner the judge didn't prosecute, he said that was the way he could afford putting three kids through college. One other fellow who did go to jail a couple years was making $200K/year in the 1970s!

 

[Jim Nelson]

There are some you tube videos on how to make white lightening and one of my sons found a recipe he really likes as do some of his buddies. He only makes it a certain time of year,I think winter, and has a bunch of guys waiting around for it to be ready.

Back during the depression my Dad got into bootlegging and one of his partners wives ended up blind drinking some of it. I'm like Step,I can't handle it .

 

[Fuddy1952]

There are some you tube videos on how to make white lightening and one of my sons found a recipe he really likes as do some of his buddies. He only makes it a certain time of year,I think winter, and has a bunch of guys waiting around for it to be ready.

Back during the depression my Dad got into bootlegging and one of his partners wives ended up blind drinking some of it. I'm like Step,I can't handle it .

Some went blind, some got the jake leg. There's an art to it like everything and some people made hootch using old car radiators, etc. You have to know what you're doing.
Years ago I worked downtown next to a diner that mostly sold alcohol. On their counter next to the register was one of those donation money jars, usually someone's picture needing money to pay medical bills. This one just had a card taped to it..."Wine for the Blind" it said.

 

[Jstpssng]

I learned another new term tonight, Jake Leg

From Merriam-Webster dictionary:

\ ˈjāk-ˌleg


, -ˌlāg \
Definition of jake leg
: a paralysis caused by drinking improperly distilled or contaminated liquor

First Known Use of jake leg
1932, in the meaning defined above
History and Etymology for jake leg
jake grain alcohol flavored with an alcoholic extract of ginger

Then again, I'm probably the only one who hadn't heard the term.

 

[Molalla1]

I learned another new term tonight, Jake Leg

From Merriam-Webster dictionary:



Then again, I'm probably the only one who hadn't heard the term.

Bathtub gin . . .

 

[Threepoint]

Hey Steppenwolfe, very cool! Here's a little music to go along with your new finds.

Joan Baez - Copper Kettle [HD] - YouTube

 

[MossRoad]

I'm pretty sure those are submarine pot stills, not mash tanks.

 

[Wagtail]

Then again, I'm probably the only one who hadn't heard the term.

Nope, I had to look it up too... which is a wee bit of a turn-around to all of you blokes having to decipher 'Aussie-isms'.

Turns out that the 'jake' part was from "Jamaica" ginger.

 

[Gunny]

I'm pretty sure those are submarine pot stills, not mash tanks.

That was my line of thinking, and if they aren't made out of copper, I wouldn't want any shine that came out of it, no way it could have made good whiskey. A moonshiner with any pride in his finished product wouldn't use it.

We've got a couple of folks still making moonshine here, on is just three farms down the road from me. His is pretty good stuff, grinds his own corn in the mix, but he only fires up and runs two or three times a year.