If moonshine is considered "whiskey"...

[Ghoste]

then why is it clear?

[Troy]

Because it doesn't get aged in charcoal barrels.

Troy

[Ghoste]

Seriously?  What I mean is that I'm not disbelieving you but I had always thought the aging in barrels was strictly a flavoring thing and never really thought about the amber color coming from there. 
Thanks.

[Dans 68]

Seriously. 

Dan

[Ghoste]

So what is the difference between good old 'shine and domestic vodka?  I realize that real or traditional vodkas are made from taters but isn't domestic vodka made from corn like whiskey? 

[Cooter]

The Way it's made Brutha...A Good "Sippin' "shine is made with love, and is smooth as silk....Vodka is made in a factory turning out fifty barrels a day..You ain't lived till you've had you some good 'ol Piney River Va. "Recipe"...

[b5blue]

I've only had the pleasure one time, and it was like drinking heaven.  Smooth and sweet as morning dew collected by honeybees. But I wain nostalgic...Whiskey is "grain derived" by definition.   

[68blue]

 By law they can only use the barrels one time to make bourbon. After that they sell them to other whiskey makers or wine makers like me.

[tan top]

By law they can only use the barrels one time to make bourbon. After that they sell them to other whiskey makers or wine makers like me.

that's intresting  , wonder why that is    used barrels affecting alcohol persentage or taste  

[b5blue]

Your simple question leads to a whole world of "Do and don't" topics. The type of wood, how its aged and made into a barrel, if it's charred, how it's charred, how long the whiskey is in there and even where in the world it sits in the barrel all effect the outcome. (I watched a show about Scotland just recently and boy did they go into it!) Every tiny detail down to even soil and type or strain of grain, how the farmer treats it and the weather that year!  Now I'm getting thirsty!   

[68blue]

By law they can only use the barrels one time to make bourbon. After that they sell them to other whiskey makers or wine makers like me.

that's intresting  , wonder why that is    used barrels affecting alcohol persentage or taste  

A good friend who works at a Kentucky distiller told me that the law is an old one having to do with the definition of Bourbon. He also said that barrels at the top of the whiskey house have more flavor because of the heat and most of the single barrel premium stuff comes from here. The age on whiskey is based on how long it is in the barrel. I have always thought about trying this but will probably stick to wine making, it's still legal.

[twodko]

You haven't lived until you savor some "clear" from a mason jar. I saw the light in Brunswick, Ga. - if you drink enough of it you'll see lights for awhile. 

[greenpigs]

I had some shine from KY...my Grandpa laughed for a couple minutes.

[Brock Lee]

I have had it a couple times. Each time I couldn't help but think thats what lacquer thinner or denatured alcohol would taste like...

[Ghoste]

Is it illegal to distill hard liquor for personal use or just the transportation and sale of it?

[mauve66]

transportation and sale for lack of proper taxes being paid

[68blue]

Is it illegal to distill hard liquor for personal use or just the transportation and sale of it?

I think it is illegal to distill, even for your own use, without the proper license from the treasury.  I know people who do it but stay away from it myself. I have thought about it, to get something usefull back from a bad batch of wine. I my case I would be making brandy instead of whiskey.

[Tilar]

Unless my brother has got into it, I have about a half a mason jar of it in the fridge at the shop, And for those that say it's like vodka, I've never had vodka light my butt on fire like shine before.

[Chargen69]

Is it illegal to distill hard liquor for personal use or just the transportation and sale of it?

I think it is illegal to distill, even for your own use, without the proper license from the treasury.  I know people who do it but stay away from it myself. I have thought about it, to get something usefull back from a bad batch of wine. I my case I would be making brandy instead of whiskey.

yep, that would be illegal too.  If you make it for yourself, you aint paying the taxes on that either, and that's what's it all about.

now, you aint gonna get caught unless you start buying sugar by the truck load, though

[Ghoste]

So why are beer and wine okay?

[Dans 68]

So why are beer and wine okay?

As in why are they legal and "moonshine" is not? Good question. Here is an answer. http://www.slate.com/id/2176247/

Dan

[tan top]

By law they can only use the barrels one time to make bourbon. After that they sell them to other whiskey makers or wine makers like me.

that's intresting  , wonder why that is    used barrels affecting alcohol persentage or taste  

A good friend who works at a Kentucky distiller told me that the law is an old one having to do with the definition of Bourbon. He also said that barrels at the top of the whiskey house have more flavor because of the heat and most of the single barrel premium stuff comes from here. The age on whiskey is based on how long it is in the barrel. I have always thought about trying this but will probably stick to wine making, it's still legal.

thanks  for the reply , intresting stuff 

[mauve66]

so once again the government is doing something based on revenue enhancement, what a surprise.
i would of thought if it was for your own personal consumption they couldn't say anything, you can only get taxed on something if your selling it, right??
if you say no, then everytime a "legal" distiller has a problem with a batch and has to dump it they would still have to pay tax on it even though they didn't get to sell it...........

[Chad L. Magee]

then why is it clear?

Sorry for the late reply, been grading chem exams the past two weeks......

Ethyl alcohol (or ethanol or grain alcohol) is a colorless liquid, as is water.  The color in whiskey is due to materials added to the liquid to give it that particular color (usually from storage in hard woods or other stuff that gets mixed in, even charcoal).  If you took any whiskey and distilled the solution, you would get a clear solution, but it would not be a 200 proof batch of alcohol.  This is because ethanol forms an allotropic mixture with water (hydrogen bonds holds them together), which means that you would get at best 190 proof (95% ethanol/5% water) out of the whiskey just by regular distillation.  To get it to 200 proof, you have to do some special chemistry techniques......

When I was a graduate student, I was capable of going down to the stockroom and ordering 200 proof in both gold and blue labeled bottles.  The difference in them is whether or not an additional chemical has been added to prevent human consumption.  The stockroom guys knew that I was highly allergic to ethanol, so there was no chance of me drinking the stuff I got.  Since I worked in a rad lab, we did not have to worry about our supply disappearing once in the lab (locked and monitored area).  My problem is that once open to the air, the alcohol would convert to the allotrope before I could use it up in reactions.....

[b5blue]

I just found out red wine must sit with the skins of the grapes for days before fermenting or it to would be clear (ish) as the juice isn't red.  Florida makes some good wine also!