Kentucky Moonshine

by Maurer, David W.

• ISBN13: 9780813102030
• ISBN10: 0813102030
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1975-01-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kentucky

Summary

When the first American tax on distilled spirits was established in 1791, violence broke out in Pennsylvania. The resulting Whiskey Rebellion sent hundreds of families down the Ohio River by flatboat, stills on board, to settle anew in the fertile bottomlands of Kentucky. Here they used cold limestone spring water to make bourbon and found that corn produced even better yields of whiskey than rye. Thus, the licit and illicit branches of the distilling industry grew up side by side in the state. This is the story of the illicit side--the moonshiners' craft and crafts-manship, as practiced in Kentucky. A glossary of moonshiner argot sheds light on such colorful terms as "puker," "slop," and "weed-monkey." David W. Maurer's tone is tongue-in-cheek, but he provides a realistic look at the Kentucky moonshiner and the moonshining industry.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Let's Make Moonshine	p. 1
The History of Moonshining	p. 12
The Production of Whiskey	p. 29
The Geography of Moonshining	p. 47
Money, Materials, and Equipment	p. 60
Moonshining as an Industry	p. 72
Law Enforcement	p. 82
The Argot of the Craft	p. 105
Glossary	p. 113
Notes	p. 129
Bibliography	p. 133
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