I have reopened these threads and moved them to the "Folklore" category because there is almost nothing more important to American folklore than moonshine.

I've lived 64 years now, and I have felt my life as a folk musician was incomplete because I had never tasted moonshine. I have had poteen, compliments of my wayward Irish priest; but not moonshine. I was a little afraid to seek it out when I was in Sevier County in the hills of Tennesee, just west of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Now Sevier County is supposed to be the center of illegal moonshine in the U.S. The area is full of mysterious little "hollers" where a California tourist might go and never come back.

I was born a Detroiter and my ancestors never remembered what side of the river they lived on, so Stroh's Fire-Brewed Beer and Canadian Whisky and Vernor's Ginger Ale are the traditional beverages of my family. But I went to my local BevMo yesterday, and found that the Canadian Whisky selection had been condensed, and replaced by a wide selection of moonshine and corn whisky. What I saw first were all sorts of fruit-flavored moonshines, and I couldn't believe those were authentic in any way - were they? The store clerk pointed me to a shelf behind me, and there were a number of corn-based products claiming to be authentic moonshine or corn whisky. I asked what was most authentic, and the clerk directed me to something called Junior Johnson's Midnight Moon - copper still, triple distilled from corn, 80 proof; produced and bottled by Piedmont Distillers in Madison, North Carolina (quite a way across the Smoky Mountains from Sevier County).

So, hey, I had to do it. It didn't seem quite right that it was legal, but I forked over an outrageous twenty bucks and bought a bottle. It's like they had finally crossed the last barrier and gentrified moonshine. But hey, this was a way to approximate the experience with reasonable assurance that there wasn't anything in this moonshine that would kill me. So....I took it home and poured a little bit into a Mason jar (gotta have the Mason jar, ya know). I smelled it - yuck, kinda like paint thinner. I took a sip - tasted like paint thinner too (not that I'm accustomed to drinking paint thinner. So...I decided I wasted my twenty bucks.

But hey, I can't waste my money, so I poured myself a little Mason jar of the stuff this afternoon - and now it tastes pretty good. Here's what it says on the back of the bottle:

Midnight Moon Proudly Made by our Very Own Hands While your great granddaddy was firing up a pipe, Junior Johnson's was firing up a still. Few family recipes carry a jail sentence, but to the Johnson Family, it was a way of life. With the law on his heels, Junior ran the finest moonshine to the dry rural South. Midnight Moon follows the Johnson Family, small batch recipe. It's proudly made by our very own hands, and triple distilled to craft a smooth, clean-tasting spirit. Copper still, triple distilled from corn, 80 proof Produced and bottled by Piedmont Distillers in Madison, North Carolina

I'm guessing Junior Johnson wears a suit and tie nowadays and drives a Cadillac, but oh, well. Junior also sells moonshine in Mason jars in the following flavors: Apple Pie, Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Cranberry & Strawberry. I'm glad I passed them up, even though the jars were cute. I figure this is the last bottle of moonshine I'll buy in my life, and then I'll go back to Canadian Whisky and craft beers made by former hippies. But you know, this legal moonshine ain't bad - and now I can sing like I know what I'm singin' about.

-Joe-