The History of Moonshine Distilled

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The History of Moonshine Distilled

Review: 'Moonshine: A Global History,' by Kevin R. Kosar
BY:  Victorino Matus   
May 6, 2017 4:55 am

The first time I tried moonshine was in the 1990s at a Fourth of July party in Washington, D.C. Someone handed me a mason jar filled with a clear liquid. The mere whiff of it made me wince—it smelled like paint thinner. But since everyone was giving it a try, I agreed to take a swig. It was awful, and I quickly returned to my vodka-soda while nodding to the beat of Third Eye Blind. (Did I mention this party was in the 1990s?)

So who on earth would drink this stuff? As Kevin Kosar writes in Moonshine: A Global History, it turns out lots of people do and for all sorts of reasons (many of them not good). "To the denizens of a slum in Nigeria, Philadelphia or Manchester, it is a cheap, quick buzz that helps blot out the misery of existence." College kids drink it to "prove one's audacity and wildness to peers." For the libertarian, "moonshine is a declaration of freedom and revolt against government." And for the "foodie" (I'll say "hipster"), "licit or illicit moonshine provides the opportunity to enjoy ‘authentic' liquor."

Wait—isn’t "licit moonshine" an oxymoron? Isn't a spirit moonshine because it is by definition illicit? For the most part, the answer is yes. It's made in the backwoods of West Virginia and Tennessee, in remote villages in West Africa and Indonesia, in Chinese factories and, well, a lot of places in Russia. (Kosar mentions knock-off Johnnie Walker from China—printed on the bottle was "Johnnie Worker Red Labial.")

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http://freebeacon.com/culture/mooneshine-global-history/