NATIONAL MOONSHINE DAY
On June 5 we toast National Moonshine Day to recognize a beverage with a notorious record of blurring the lines of history and the law, turning ordinary men (and women) into criminals and common criminals into legends. Follow along as we discuss how the history is just as strong as the drink.

#NationalMoonshineDay
Traditionally, moonshine is an illegally distilled whiskey spirit mostly made from a corn mash and typically produced by an individual illegally without a permit. Also known as white lightning, mountain dew, homebrew, hillbilly pop, rotgut, and moonshine has served as a means for people to acquire liquor and make a living.

Whiskey Rebellion of 1791
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1791 in the US occurred when the federal government placed a tax on distilled spirits. During this time, farmers made whiskey from their excess grain to earn income. When the government began taxing the farmers, the farmers decided to begin making moonshine as a way to defy the new tax. Sadly, the rebellion was short-lived, but the illegal production of moonshine did not stop.

Prohibition
Distilling skills first came to the US with the Scotch-Irish as they settled in Virginia. Temperance laws and prohibition legislation were passed in several states before the Civil War, but it wasn't until the turn of the century that the temperance movement picked up steam. By the time the 18th Amendment was ratified early in 1919, over half the country was dry.
Prohibition lasted 13 years and created a demand for moonshine, unlike any that may have existed before. Moonshine became big business overnight for moonshiners and bootleggers.

Modern Moonshine
These days, moonshine in the legal sense has a following. Small-batch distilleries are producing legal moonshine giving moonshiners a new name. Bringing moonshine out of the woods has allowed for moonshiners to legally go up against other whiskeys for a place on the shelf. Many are packaging their homebrews in canning jars, embracing their rich history allowing moonshiners to experiment with flavor. In fact, moonshiners are branch out with food pairing similar to that of wine and beer.

5 Moonshine Trivia Ideas
1. Shepherd was Uncle Jesse's CB handle on the Dukes of Hazzard. Sweet Tillie was the name of his Ford LTD/Galaxie in the first episode - his moonshine runner.
2. The X's on the moonshine jugs symbol represents the number of times a batch was run through the still. If marked XXX, the moonshine is pure alcohol.
3. What do Esther Clark, Edna Giard, Stella Beloumant, Mary Wazeniak all have in common? They were all bootleggers. Bootlegging was an equal opportunity profession.
4. Lavinia Gilman was a bootlegger, too. At 80 years old, she ran a 300 gallon still in Montana. The judge suspected her son was the real culprit, though.
5. During prohibition, there were many ways to transport bootlegged moonshine. Faking a funeral was a convenient ruse to move the product. Out of respect for the dead, of course, those with the badge were reluctant to stop a funeral procession.

NATIONAL MOONSHINE DAY HISTORY
Within our research, we were unable to identify the founder of National Moonshine Day.