The surprising story of Moonshine
What do Mountain Dew, Nascar, and moonshine have in common? Find out more about the legendary bootleggers of the Prohibition Era and how they shaped the history of the South, and meet the distilleries that carry on the tradition today!
Moonshine runner’s mountain hideout
At its best, moonshine is a clear, unaged whiskey. The corn based spirit often has a high alcohol content and potent smell. The name moonshine is really a slang term referring to a strong, illegally made alcohol.
Brought to America in the 18th century primarily by Irish and Scottish immigrants, moonshine was often homemade, and is often associated with Southern culture. As popularity increased for the drink, and government focused on its taxation, distillers hid in the cover of night to create and sell their liquor. It’s this undercover of night imagery that most likely gave the high proofed liquor its name, moonshine.
When the government banned all manufacture, transportation, and sale of liquors, ushering in the Prohibition Era (1920 to 1933), the moonlight manufacturing, bootlegging, speakeasies and gang violence only increased. Enforcing the law was hard. The public was rewarded for turning in the bootleggers and directing the police to stills which were destroyed.
America’s first legal moonshine distillery opened in 2005. Today, we are proud to partner with the ARKANSAS DISTILLERS GUILD in celebrating an age-old craft whose history runs so deep in our region’s culture.
Moonshine Trivia: Did you know?
- There are no rules to make moonshine.
Anything goes! Moonshine can be made from corn, malted barley, rye, wheat, or other grain that can provide soluble sugar. It doesn’t need to be aged or distilled any number of times. And additions like fruit, herbs and spices can be added to create a truly unique alcohol each time. The most basic moonshine only has four ingredients: cornmeal, sugar, water and yeast.
- Moonshine is clear because it’s not aged.
Because moonshine is not aged – resting for a period of time, often in an oak barrel – it does not take on the aromas or flavors, and color, of the wood.
- George Washington owned a distillery.
He began commercial distilling in 1797 at the urging of his Scottish farm manager, James Anderson. Construction began that October of a stone still house large enough for 5 stills. The river rock foundation was brought from Potomac Falls, and the walls from sandstone quarried at Mount Vernon. The most common beverage produced there was whiskey – 60% rye, 35% corn, 5% malted barley.
- Moonshine fueled NASCAR.
In the 1940’s, soldiers were returning home from war – many with new mechanical skills. In the hopes of outrunning cops, these mechanically skilled bootleggers modified car and truck engines and suspensions to make their vehicles move faster. The souped-up cars were called moonshine runners. These savvy bootleggers then spent their days off racing each other in the modified cars – the foundation of NASCAR. In fact, initial funds to start NASCAR were provided by a bootlegger.
- Moonshine is often labeled with an XXX.
Moonshiners used to draw X’s on their bottles to represent how many times the liquor had been distilled. The more X’s, the more concentrated the moonshine which would be quite strong. Remember seeing XXX on bottles in old cartoons?
- Mountain Dew was created to be a moonshine mixer.
Mountain Dew is one of many slang terms for moonshine. It’s a nod back to the original intended manufacturing of the soda – as a mixer with moonshine and other spirits. In fact, the original mascot for Mountain Dew advertisements was Willie the Hillbilly, a distinct image to reference the intent.
- Moonshine wasn’t just for drinking.
Original Appalachian settlers lived in very harsh conditions. The manufacture of moonshine meant money, but it wasn’t created just to get people drunk. Moonshine had several practical applications including disinfectant, solvent, tranquilizer and anesthetic. It was also traded for money, seeds, livestock and more.
Want to know more?
Keep reading in our “Moonshine history vault”!
DID YOU KNOW that the first documented woman ruler in history was an accomplished brewer?
Brewing & bartending were highly revered professions in the ancient Middle East, where beer & wine were first produced over 5,000 years ago.
Queen Kubaba of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) brewed her own spirits as a highly influential tavern keeper around 2400 BC. She used her wealth and networking skills to become a powerful local leader. She was eventually revered as a goddess.
“Lead burns red and makes you dead.” Or so the old bootlegger adage goes…
The origin of the “red read” legend started during Prohibition, when moonshiners used recycled radiators in their stills. This could leach dangerous amounts of lead into the liquor they produced.
It was believed that burning a spoonful of the moonshine was a test for contamination, with a “blue flame” meaning safe, vs. a “red flame” indicating the presence of lead.
Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton (1946-2009) was a famous Appalachian moonshiner & bootlegger.
He once said, “Jesus turned water into wine, I turn it into liquor.”
Mr. Sutton was also the inspiration behind our “Marvin the Moonshine” mascot. You can take your picture with a life-sized woodcarving of Marvin & his still at the Ozark Moonshine Fest!
During Prohibition, moonshiners used many creative methods to evade paying taxes on their goods.
The federal government sent agents called “revenuers” throughout moonshine country to shut down illegal liquor operations, and attempt to stop the massive loss of tax revenue from unregulated booze.
The earliest documented use of the word “moonshine” as alcohol was in England in 1788.
Francis Grose (a colorful English writer and explorer) compiled the “Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue” which was a kind of “urban dictionary” of its day. He recorded the word “moonshine” referring to homemade gin.
December 5, 1933 is officially remembered as the end of Prohibition in the US.
The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment & Volstead Act, which had banned all manufacture, transportation, & sale (but interestingly, not the consumption) of alcohol in the so-called “14-year thirst.”
Although abolishing Prohibition was proposed in February, it took most of the year to reach a legal majority to pass into law, as Congress let each state cast their vote. Some states never did, and those who voted against the 21st Amendment were allowed to maintain Prohibition – leading to the origin of today’s “dry counties.”
This shift back to legal, regulated alcohol also marked a huge change in the flow of profits away from the hands of gangsters & black marketeers, and back towards distillers, brewers, and merchants in communities across the Depression-stricken US.
Brothers Barney & Ally Hartmann developed the original formula for Mountain Dew in the 1930’s.
Called “Personal Setup,” they served it with bourbon & shine to friends & family, with “Willy the Hillbilly” as its unofficial mascot.
When local Tennessee shopkeepers wanted it on the shelf, and by the 1950’s, the new “Mountain Dew” recipe & label took the world by storm. The Pepsi-Cola Company bought the rights in 1964.
It’s a common misconception that moonshiners & bootleggers were all men – and that moonshining happened only in the South!
These two sisters, Florence Friermuth and Susie Friermuth Doffing, were photographed at their family farm in St. Paul, Minnesota following their arrest for moonshining during Prohibition.
Did you know…Delta Dirt Distillery is the only black-owned distillery in the US?
The Williams family of Helena, Arkansas produce award-winning sweet potato vodka from the same land their ancestors once worked as sharecroppers.
Generations of hard work have put southeast Arkansas on the map, with excellent craft spirits & numerous recognitions, including the coveted “Henry Award” from Arkansas Tourism.
Did you know the initial funds to start NASCAR were provided by a bootlegger?
While Prohibition ended in 1933, soldiers returning from WWII continued running bootleg liquor back home, using their newly-found mechanical skills to outrun the law.
These savvy veterans modified car and truck engines and suspensions to make their vehicles faster, and spent their days off racing each other in the modified cars – the foundation of NASCAR.
Long before Prohibition made bootleg liquor a booming economy, homemade moonshine was an important product in colonial America.
In some areas, moonshine was even used as currency. After the Revolutionary War, President Washington passed the first liquor tax to help recoup wartime costs – angering war veterans & farmers, who started a “WHISKEY REBELLION” that nearly dismantled the newly formed United States.
Did you know…NASCAR legend Junior Johnson ran moonshine in the Carolina foothills during the 1940’s?
NASCAR has deep roots in the WWII-era “bootleg mechanics” who rebuilt cars & trucks with custom suspensions, supercharged for running moonshine through the backwoods.
While Johnson was convicted in 1967 for his family’s illegal still, no one could ever catch him in a high-speed transport. President Reagan granted him an official pardon in 1986.
“Moonshiners put more time, energy, thought, and love into their cars than any racers ever will,” he was once quoted. “Lose on the track and you go home. Lose with a load of whiskey and you go to jail.”
Junior Johnson Photo by Ted Van Pelt (Wikimedia Commons)
Mahalia Mullins was a famous home-distiller in Tennessee who built a moonshine empire to support her family.
A feisty and colorful character, she managed to evade the law right up until her death in 1898.
Photo: West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Moonshine can be distilled from more than just corn.
The most basic moonshine has only four ingredients: cornmeal, sugar, water and yeast. But moonshine can also be made from a “mash” of barley, rye, wheat, or any other grain or starch that can provide soluble sugar.
Unlike other spirits, it doesn’t need to be aged or distilled a particular number of times. Additions like fruit, herbs and spices can be added to create a truly unique alcohol each time.
Rock Town Distillery is the oldest legal distillery in operation in Arkansas since Prohibition.
Located in Little Rock, Rock Town has the distinction of being the FIRST legal moonshine distillery in the state of Arkansas since Prohibition. Opened in 2005, their label is now widely recognized as one of our state’s finest representatives in the distilling industry, with an impressive line of award-winning whiskey, bourbon, vodka, gin, & more.
The rich heritage of moonshine distilling & bluegrass music in the Ozarks has deep roots in the Scots-Irish ancestry of early American settlers.
Some of the world’s oldest distilleries in operation today are in Ireland.
The distilling industry is more than just production – it plays a vital role in the community.
Distillers generate revenue for our towns, support workers & their families throughout the industry, and provide opportunities to partner with others to make a difference in our communities.
Moonshine was an important source of income for families before & after Prohibition.
Homemade distilling had its roots in America’s colonial days, and became a primary livelihood, especially for hardscrabble mountain communities across the Appalachians & Ozarks.
Family stills with closely-guarded recipes were passed down through generations, along with secret hideouts & bootlegger trails. Moonshine production often involved the whole family, with each person having a job in manufacturing, storing, & distributing.