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Moonshine
is a common name for illicitly-distilled corn whiskey. The
term is commonly believed to derive from early English smugglers
(called moonrakers because of a 17th century legend) and Appalachian
home distillers who often engaged in illegal distillation
and distribution of moonshine whiskey clandestinely (i.e.,
by the light of the moon).
Production
Moonshine is any distilled spirit made in an unlicensed still.
As with all distilled spirits, yeast ferments a sugar source
to produce ethanol, then the alcohol is extracted through
distillation using a still. Because of its illegal nature,
moonshine is rarely aged in barrels like proper whiskey, and
it sometimes contains impurities and off flavors, but very
rarely other, toxic alcohols such as methanol. The off flavors
may come from improper mashing, fermentation and/or distillaton.
In popular culture, moonshine is usually presented as being
extremely strong and in North America is commonly associated
with the Southern United States, Appalachia and Atlantic Canada.
Moonshining is usually done using small-scale stills. Typically,
the still is built by the moonshine producer, thus avoiding
the legal ramifications of obtaining a still commercially.
The most rudimentary moonshine stills are made of 55 gallon
drums or sheet metal formed into a tank with a wooden base
and head, stove pipe, 55 gallon drum condenser barrel, copper
coil or radiator condenser, and a homemade gas burner. However,
the pot still is the traditional choice, being popular with
early moonshine producers due to its simplicity and ease of
construction.
More efficient reflux stills are available to the modern moonshiner,
either self-built, assembled from a kit, or purchased fully
assembled. Lately, do-it-yourself still designs have become
widely available on the Internet.
"Moonshine" and "Still Making Moonshine" are two documentaries
that depict the life of a modern Appalachian moonshiner, the
making of a three stage still out of sheets of copper, putting
up corn mash, and running whiskey.
Uses
Usually, large scale illicit distillation is associated
with the making of ethanol for drinking, however it is also
practiced for creating biofuel
Safety
Badly-produced
moonshine can be contaminated with toxins, mainly from materials
used in construction of the still.
Stills employing used automotive radiators as a condenser
are particularly dangerous; in some cases, glycol products
from antifreeze used in the radiator can appear as well. Radiators
used as heaters also may contain lead at the connections to
the plumbing. Both glycol and lead are poisonous and potentially
deadly. Although methanol is not produced in toxic amounts
by fermentation of sugars from grain starches, contamination
is still possible by unscrupulous distillers using cheap methanol
to increase the apparent strength of the product.
Moonshine can be made both more palatable and less damaging
by removing the "foreshot" which contains most of the methanol,
if any, from the mash. This is possible because methanol vaporizes
at a lower temperature than ethanol. The foreshot also typically
contains small amounts of other undesirable compounds such
as acetone and various aldehydes. Any alcohol that is at least
80 US proof (i.e. 40% Alcohol by Volume) is flammable. This
is especially true during the distilling process in which
vaporized alcohol can accumulate in the air if there is not
enough ventilation.
Mixtures
Occasionally moonshine is mixed with flavoring agents or compounds
intended to increase the apparent alcohol content, such as
methanol. Sometimes, whether intentional or not, this results
in a toxic mixture. Results may be capable of causing blindness
or death. While poisoning incidents are rare, particularly
in developed nations, together with the lack of regulation
of moonshine production, they are cause for concern about
the safety of moonshine. In the past moonshine has been mixed
with beading oil or lye to fool people into believing that
it is of a higher proof. This is because when shaken, bubbles
form on the surface relative to the alcoholic strength (known
as "the bead"). Large bubbles with a short duration indicate
higher proof. Flavoring Mixtures might consist of fruits,
or even bark. The mash may be cooked through birch bark to
achieve a mint-like flavor. The product might be cooked through
a screen of fruit to achieve a fruit-like flavor. Fruits may
be added to the liquor as a flavor additive; however, the
resulting mixture may not be of strong flavor.
Tests
A common "folk" quality test for moonshine was to pour a small
quantity of it into a metal spoon and set it alight, the theory
being that safe distillate burns with a blue flame, but tainted
distillate burns with a yellow flame. Practitioners of this
simple test sometimes held that if a radiator coil had been
used as a condenser there would be lead in the alcohol, which
would give a reddish flame. This led to the phrase: "Lead
burns red and makes you dead." While the flame test shows
the presence of lead and fusel oils, it does not reveal the
presence of methanol, which also burns blue. Another test
used for moonshine is to "proof". A small amount of gun powder
is poured in a dish with the moonshine. It is ignited and
if the mixture starts to flame it is "proofed." In other words
if it lights then it contains a good amount of alcohol, but
if it does not flame the moonshine has been diluted. Note
that this only proves the alcohol to be at least 57.15% ABV.
Source:
Wikipedia