My Dad did a little shine, and import whiskey smuggling when he was younger. He had a Harley, and would stuff his saddle bags, and a duffel with straw, and bottles, of imported whiskey, from the runners, at the beach, and deliver them. He also had an old dodge he would load up now and then. He has made a batch now and then. I have had some from Pine mountain Ga., which was not the best, but not too bad, some from elsewhere, and some from a farm in well a state, near Ga. and was owned by a famous race car driver. Now that was the best hands down! Very smooth, but it would set you free, if you were not careful, and got to easy with it. It would knock your....in the dirt. But it actually had a good flavor to it, and well over a hundred proof. Like I said it would not take long to find out if you had more than you should have at one time. I wish I could get some more, but the guy, I got it from, said the guy who worked for him used to get it from his uncle, who was very sick, the last I heard. So I have not gotten any more, and may not get any more. I sure wish I had not given the rest of the jar to my neighbor, who is a lightweight drinker in the first place. But like it was said, it depended on where, and how it was made, and what it was made in! Used to pour a little in glass, and light it, and if it had a green flame, just dump the whole mess!
If it had a blue flame, ......bottoms up.
Personally, I prefer to just drink it straight up, if it is well made. You can mix it with just about anything you want. It's just corn alcohol. Same as gov. approved whiskey. Except gov. approved is aged a bit more......
You used to be able to by grain alcohol in the liqueur stores. My Dad used to use hard maple charcoal sticks, to filter the shine with. I had a cousin who got busted for hauling moonshine. He had a molasses truck, with a fifty gallon tank in the middle of it, and a secret spout. Well someone talked, and he got caught. But good for Tennessee. When the revolution comes......
There should be a lot of it around. Just be careful where it comes from, and how it was made, and in what type of container. I've always thought about trying absinthe, but was just a little leary, since it, like Napoleon Brandy should actually be labeled a poison. I was listening to the radio a while back, and they had a story on Absinthe, and the different manufactures, and who actually followed the old formula, etc. So what does it taste like?
Wayne