A Moonshine Still Can Have Many Different Uses

By Donna Bell


There are some people who love coffee. Others like trying different kinds of teas. Still others enjoy the taste of an occasional alcoholic beverage. If you are of legal age, you can purchase wines and beers in many different varieties and in a full range of prices. Over the past several years, more and more individuals have become intrigued with making their own personal beers and wines. Then there are those who love the idea of making whiskey in a moonshine still.

This liquor has a history that goes back before the era of Prohibition, although that is the time that probably thrust it into the mainstream of society. When alcohol was banned by federal law, bootleggers knew there was a lucrative business in illegal sales of outlawed liquor. Moonshine, also known as white lightning, hooch, shine, and by many other names, was easy to manufacture and bottle. It quickly found an eager public ready to break the law in order to buy it.

You can buy a still online very easily. They are offered new and used and come in a wide variety of sizes and prices. If you want to build one yourself, you can purchase kits and plans for a nominal fee. Even the most respectable websites, where people buy everything from video games to cars, have stills for sale. A person looking for stills for personal use can find high quality equipment for three to seven hundred dollars.

Not everyone interested in purchasing a still is interested in making liquor. When you see well made stills, they can be quite beautiful, and some have even been elevated to the level of art. You can find antique equipment to add to your home and delight your guests with your creativity.

Individuals interested in producing moonshine usually do some research, end up knowing something about the liquor, and try to impress their drinking buddies with interesting facts. They may explain that it became popular with rural Americans because it was cheap and easy to make. Most of the ingredients needed they already had on the farm, like corn and hog feed mash. It was also potent, about one hundred sixty proof when ready to drink.

Guests might also be interested to hear how the stuff is associated with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. In the old days, sheriffs and tax revenuers were on the lookout for illegal stills, and the moonshiners knew it. They outfitted their cars with revved up engines so they could outrun the authorities. Eventually somebody thought up the idea of racing the cars around a track, and stock car racing was born.

Most people know the answer, but still ask if moonshine production, even for personal use, is illegal. They already know it is outlawed in almost every state. You can manufacture the liquor for mass consumption in certain states with approval, licenses, and payment of taxes. If you decide to go ahead and make it for yourself anyway, you should be aware that you risk being arrested and fined.

Making alcohol for personal use can be a really fun hobby. If you decide to venture into the world of moonshine production, just be careful the "revenuers" don't find out.




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