Moonshine?

I’m just listening to a story on Market Place on NPR about the new interest in unaged hooch- Moonshine. The story features 2 guys from Brooklyn who got a distillery license and will be selling their hooch to bars in Brooklyn in June. Anyone hear of this trend?

No. And I hope it’s a hoax.

Yeah. Doesn’t sound very appealing to me either. The story said that these guys are now the only distillery in NYC. Kings Co. Distillery.

Let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of real NC and TN mountain moonshine – the stuff on which NASCAR was built. Going into the mountain hollows to buy the mason jars can be quite a trip!

Used to drink this occasionally in college, but then grew up

Not a lot of skill here. Better (and a lot cheaper (and illegal)) to make it at home

Yeah, we used to see it occasionally when I was at Virginia Tech. Nasty stuff, especially considering all the legal substitutes available.

Linda

I stumble across a lot of old moonshine stills out in the woods when hunting. We have a “Whisky Lane” where the moonshiners used to live.

I always wonder if the stuff was any good…supposedly this was the moonshine capital of NJ. I got that goin for me.

I think the most interesting thing about moonshine is – to think hard about HOW it is different from finished Whiskey.

The brown color, the vanilla flavor, the smoothness. Why do Brandy and good Whiskey resemble each other so closely? Because they don’t taste like grapes or grains, they taste like a wooden barrel.

AND. With that in mind, consider RED BORDEAUX. Vanilla, smooth, silky – how much of the profile of a typical red wine comes from the barrel?

At any rate, there is a lot to meditate on here, if you have experienced the nasty, colorless, harsh, vile, stuff that goes into the barrel.

I think what they are really talking about here is the new micro distilleries which are popping up. They guys obviously won’t be making “moonshine” in the strictest sense of the word in that they are doing this all legally. Here in Northern CA there has been a boom in small distilleries. Anchor Brewing Company set one up (Anchor Distilling, makers of Rye spirit and Junipero Gin) and there are a few others too. They typically don’t make whiskey in the strictest sense in that having to age the spirit for a long time isn’t something they make (takes too long). So they make other spirits which don’t take years to come to market (Gin, Eau de Vie, …)

Well in North Carolina, way back in the hills
Me and my old pappy had a hand in a still
We brewed white lightnin’ ‘til the sun went down
Then he’d fill him a jug and he’d pass it around
Mighty, mighty pleasin, pappy’s corn squeezin’
Whshhhoooh . BELCH . . white lightnin’

Chorus:
Well the “G” men, “T” men, revenuers, too
Searchin’ for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
But my pappy kept a-cookin’
Whshhhoooh . BELCH. . white lightnin’

— Instrumental —

Well I asked my old pappy why he called his brew
White lightnin’ ‘stead of mountain dew
I took a little sip and right away I knew
As my eyes bugged out and my face turned blue
Lightnin’ started flashin’ and thunder started crashin’
Shhhoooh . BELCH . . white lightnin’

Chorus:
Well the “G” men, “T” men, revenuers, too
Searchin’ for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
but my pappy kept a-cookin’
Whshhhoooh . BELCH. . white lightnin’

Well a city slicker came and he said “I’m tough”
I think I wanna taste that powerful stuff
He took one g-g-glug and drank it right down
And I heard him a moaning as he hit the ground
Mighty, mighty pleasin, pappy’s corn squeezin’
Whshhhoooh . BELCH. . white lightnin’

Chorus:
Well the “G” men, “T” men, revenuers, too
Searchin’ for the place where he made his brew
They were looking, tryin to book him,
but my pappy kept a-cookin’
Whshhhoooh .BELCH . . white lightnin’…

BELCHES are optional but enhance the flavor

More info on this trend

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/705879?tag=main_body;topic-705879

I had some Deaths Door white whisky from Wisconsin at a whisky tasting. I honestly thought it was semi-interesting and considered buying a bottle, just because it was different. It almost seemed fruity. Also, I wonder if you could make some interesting drinks with it. But the price was $30 and I just couldn’t justify buying it when you can buy a 10-12 year old for that.

Small blurb in their brochure :
http://www.deathsdoorspirits.com/images/brochure.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My friends.

Thanks to a kind Tennessee fellow, I was able to sample a bottle of TN’s best that was based on Popcorn Sutton’s recipe.
The yeast as always with Popcorn was natural. Unfortunately, Popcorn took his own life after the Fed’s were going to lock him up for continuing to sell Moonshine.

The drink had been cut to approximately what we would think of as cask strength. (This varies but is usually around 110 proof.)
Delicious stuff. Better than any Vodka ever made on the planet.

I think until you have actually sampled “A” quality shine, you haven’t really had the good stuff.
It shouldn’t be loaded with esters or taste like racing fuel. It definately shouldn’t have any methanol or heavy metals.

This is what I am talking about with the esters from the tailend of the distillation. Some people like it however.

One of the best distilled beverages I have ever had comes from a French cousin of a local friend. Every year, they bring back a bottle or two of Mirabelle, which is a type of plum. French moonshine, n’est ce pas?

Never seen a locally available product that tastes anywhere near as good.

Cochon in NOLA has several different brands of craft moonshine on their menu. I tried a couple of them after dinner on my last visit out of sheer curiosity, and I can’t say that I understand the appeal. It seems like it’s just a novelty to me.

This.

Seen a couple of articles recently in Chicago and either in NYT or WSJ. This is a bit trendy right now. Some artisanal distilleries are making some high-end stuff. Actually tasted some at, of all places, Whole Foods a few weeks ago. Binny’s has had some tastings. Was pretty good. More mouthfeel than Vodka, and obviously had more flavor. Did not have the smokey or vanilla flavors of the aged versions. Definitely had more herbal and vegetal flavors. Reminded me of a good Grappa.

I wouldn’t dismiss this stuff. One of the articles talked about Buffalo Trace, and for years they’ve sold this stuff in their gift shop, and have now decided to distribute. I am about to polish off a bottle of Grappa, and may get a bottle of the Buffalo Trace for those times I need to sip on something late in the evening.

Regarding a couple of other posts on tasting the real thing - I’ve had a few bottles come out of Tenn myself. A couple of times, it was truly awful. One time I refused to even try. But once, someone brought to a party, and was fantastic. Was smooth as silk, and a bit of vanilla. Is there such a thing as “sipping moonshine?”

Micro distilling is a hot new topic. Here is where they hang…http://www.burningstill.com/

As far as NY distilleries, there are quite a few now, Tuthilltown Whiskeys are probably the most well known. http://tuthilltown.com/

Hudson NY Corn Whiskey is the one Whole Foods was sampling.

The Buffalo Trace White Dog seems to be getting a lot of media attention: http://www.buffalotrace.com/whitedogdays/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

While my experiences with real “white lightning” have been uniformly terrible, I do like grappa and marc, not to mention Kirschwasser, so I can see how moonshine could conceivably be something I might take an interest in. Thanks for letting me know about these developments.