As y'all know I live in the NC mountains.The home of the once famous Moonshine trade. Well the History channel has been doing a documentary on this trade. A couple Fridays ago I was asked to play bass for a band at a local dance hall were they would be filming an episode.It was way cool.And there was a whole lot of shine to be had free of charge. I had a ball. Never did taste it though.We were playing inside but out in the back there were some boys gettin" down playing Bluegrass and Old time music and believe me THEY had had a taste or two. Had a nice barbecue dinner before hand as well.Watch for me on the History channel. The joint is called Jimmy's Pick 'N Grin. They have a web site. Andrews NC
Way cool.
Hey-- Gimmie a tug o' that good ole Mountain Dew now, heah?
--Mac
John way cool! What does moonshine taste like anyhow?
Dang, Bob! I was going to say naptha, that's lighter fluid. I've never tried shine but, while stationed in Germany, they had a drink that we GIs referred to as ***'s ***** and we could fill our Zippos with it. Probably 180 proof or more. It was sort of a daredevil challenge to drink it straight. Guido may have the proper German name for it but our translation is unprintable.
I didn't dare taste it.There were a number of varieties though. From clear to a golden color.
I went to college in the mountains of North Georgia and you had to be careful about stumbling upon someone's still when hiking out in the woods.
Tried it once (supposedly from a reliable source) and it mixed nicely with lemonade and went down smoothly. But I haven't and wouldn't try it again since. I'm not that desperate. Plenty of affordable good stuff at the ABC store.
I just wondered because a former neighbor out here makes really tasty beer and mead. I never really liked beer until tasting some of his stuff. The mead was outstanding but something about is didn't agree with my digestive tract. Wondered if folks are flavoring moonshine like they do withnother home brews.
Most moonshine tastes like Corn Liquor.
There is at least one legal brand of Corn Liquor to be found in the stores, while not the greatest example of the best 'shine, it will give you some idea of the taste.
--Mac
Scott,
If you learn to like great-tasting beers you might enjoy the micro breweries. Seattle has some of the best. It's a ho nudder sperience.
German beer (in Germany) was so much better than their watered-down 3.2% exports. A world of difference! I believe beer in Germany pushes 8% alcohol with 6% being quite common. In German beers you can taste the yeast, a sort of "liquid bread." I can't imagine what upset your digestive tract but possibly you weren't used to it.
I drank Danish Heineken while stationed in Germany so I eagerly bought some when I got back to the States to treat my friends, it was awful.
Germans drink (and prefer) their beer at nearly room temp while US brewers recommend 40F. Below 40F, the flavor is camouflaged and our taste buds begin to shut down. The 40F thing was taught me by my brother-in-law, former GM of Rainer Brewery in Seattle. Test for yourself which has the more flavor 40F (5C) or ice cold.
Cute story: Our landlord came one hot summer day to collect the rent. Seeing that he was miserable in the heat, my wife offered him an ice cold Kesselring from the fridge. She had been heating a baby bottle on the stove so he stuck his beer in the still hot water and warmed it thoroughly. LOL.
Raisin a glass of Poteen to the ole Irish man Don,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXELvufFxEUMusiclover
Can't wait to see it John! Give us a shout out if you find out the air date.
I found my self in Charlotte No Carolina last weekend. Had a very nice dinner with some inlaws that I had not met before. Our hostess offered some shine that seemed of very good quality to me. The taste was smooth and complex, not a bit fiery or rough. Fine bouquet.
The only other real shine I ever had was in another family that was part of the same side of the family. Also very refined stuff. I am told that making shine is a long family tradition.
A few years ago I was visiting a friend in N Georgia and while listening to the local radio station I was surprised to hear an announcement about a conference being held there to train local,state and federal officers on How To Spot A Moonshine Still.
Guess it's still alive and well here in the South.
Wonder how far the taste testing went?
Carkins
Here in South Africa they make a version they call mampoer. The most popular is the peach derivative but they use different fruits at time. If they get your timing right and you drink some of that i swear your engine will start no problem.....really potent ....
