Moonshiners on Discovery Channel

[Pumbaa]

it's just grain alcohol . . . very hot and harsh. The only difference between it and the whiskey you are used to is it isnt aged and has never had the favor of the oak barrel

 

[GodsStepBrother]

it's just grain alcohol . . . very hot and harsh. The only difference between it and the whiskey you are used to is it isnt aged and has never had the favor of the oak barrel

Yeah I understand it isn’t aged, but they all can’t taste the same. Just like saying a porter is the same as a stout the only difference is the black patent. There has to be a multitude of things done during the mash and distilling that give it some kind of character no? Even if it is just “grain alcohol”.

Curious to see what is so different that this gentleman was doing with his whiskey, that is all.

 

[Pumbaa]

It tastes "different" about like everclear tastes different. Maybe some people can tell but I just pray my breath comes back.

 

[weirdboy]

No it tastes different because the mash is different, fermentation is different, wash is different, still design is different, still materials are different, distillation temps are different, cuts are different, etc.

 

[GodsStepBrother]

It tastes "different" about like everclear tastes different. Maybe some people can tell but I just pray my breath comes back.

haha, yeah that is how I vodka. I am also a chain smoker when I drink so that has a lot to do with it I suppose.

 

[Pumbaa]

haha, yeah that is how I vodka. I am also a chain smoker when I drink so that has a lot to do with it I suppose.

yeah I smoked 2 packs a day for 20 years and only quit about 2 years ago . . . so my whole sense of taste is pretty much lost but returning

 

[motleybrews]

Yea, "moonshine" can be bought in the liquor stores in Tennessee. It's legal 'shine following popcorns recipe. It's toned down a bit. Not as high proof as the illegal shine, but worth a taste for those that dont have access to real 'shine.

As far as the show, I'm interested. Real, or scripted, it's not that bad. I'll give it a shot on pt 2 tonight.

And like it was stated earlier, stills are LEGAL if you have the proper paperwork and are willing to pay taxes on what you make.

Did you notice how he said that his pot is staying there after this season? Leads me to believe that somehow he was given amnesty or whatever just for the show. If you were going to keep 'shinin, why leave your best piece of equipment?

 

[motleybrews]

Y'all got me wantin some shine so I went down the road. legal shine. 46.5% (93 proof), 750ml

 

[weirdboy]

So I was doing a little background reading and came across this article from 2009:

Ground zero for whiskey: Law allows production of distilled spirits in state.

This is about legislation changes in Tennessee that made it easier to open a distillery there. However, the costs to open a legal distillery are still pretty high. The article says that in addition to a $500k tax bond that has to be paid in advance, the typical construction costs to get a distillery built and ready to product is $1.75 million and up.

Also of note in the article was this bit, here:

according to Terry Hill, special agent in charge of the Knoxville office of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, there may not be too many moonshiners left in East Tennessee since the arrest of legendary Cocke County moonshiner Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton last year that netted more than 800 gallons of homemade spirits

 

[humann_brewing]

just saw a commercial and I will at least dvr an ep and see what it's all about. Not sure what else though

 

[nukinfuts29]

It tastes "different" about like everclear tastes different. Maybe some people can tell but I just pray my breath comes back.

You couldn't be more wrong. I'm a big shine head (obviously I never make it) and you can absolutely tell a difference.

 

[Pumbaa]

It tastes "different" about like everclear tastes different. Maybe some people can tell but I just pray my breath comes back.

You couldn't be more wrong. I'm a big shine head (obviously I never make it) and you can absolutely tell a difference.

I'm absolutely wrong about what I taste? I said earlier my whole sense of taste is screwed after smoking 2packs a day for 20+ years. I also qualified my statement with "Maybe some people can tell" . . .

You really need to read what is typed and not what you want to see

 

[nukinfuts29]

Somehow I missed where you said that, it must be the jetlag.

 

[BigfootCounty]

It tastes "different" about like everclear tastes different. Maybe some people can tell but I just pray my breath comes back.

LOL shine tastes drastically different

it is exactly like beer slightly different every time

anyone can make whisky but it takes talent to make good shine

 

[Pumbaa]

I'm absolutely wrong about what I taste? I said earlier my whole sense of taste is screwed after smoking 2packs a day for 20+ years. I also qualified my statement with "Maybe some people can tell" . . .

You really need to read what is typed and not what you want to see

LOL shine tastes drastically different

it is exactly like beer slightly different every time

anyone can make whisky but it takes talent to make good shine

FFS reading is fundamental . . .

I'm out of this thread

 

[BigfootCounty]

No I saw that I just get a kick out of people making broad generalizations about stuff they clearly don't know about.

not trying to be a dick but if you are going to Infer something about people giving accurate information just to try and save face
Make sure you have a leg to stand on first.

no hard feelings though

*cheers

 

[rycov]

LOL shine tastes drastically different

it is exactly like beer slightly different every time

anyone can make whisky but it takes talent to make good shine

?

 

[BigfootCounty]

shine covers a huge spectrum of flavors from all corn to all malt

but the same man on the same rig with the same recipe will always be slightly different much like brewing beer.

we are dealing with fermentation after all

clear that up?

 

[brewingmeister]

Since Popcorn Sutton’s documentary “The Last One,” there has been a huge interest in moonshine. The documentary is gaining a big following. This is TV just trying to bank off of these people, I am sure they have licenses to produce liquor.

This is part four of the documentary, very interesting guy. He was caught after this documentary and then killed himself before serving his prison sentence.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAAehMnLaEU&feature=related

The guy that discovery is following is "Popcorn"'s grandson or son. So I would assume that he is doing this under the same guidelines popcorn had to follow.

Is this true that the guy on moonshine is popcorn's son and that popcorn killed himself after being busted?

That last run doc of popcorn's was pretty interesting.

 

[nukinfuts29]

I dunno if it's his kid, but he is believed to have taken his life to avoid going to jail. It may even be a known fact these days, but as of my last reading it was a theory.

 

[BigfootCounty]

he killed himself before starting his sentence

watch the doc again and it looks a bit more obvious

 

[tv187u]

Sorry, I just re-watched the first ep. To be sure. Towards the beginning the guy says something along the lines of "old man sutton" and I miss heard it. I thought he says "my old man sutton". I'll edit the old post when I can get to a computer.

 

[tv187u]

And Sutton killed himself with carbon monoxide a few days before he was supposed to report to jail. He had cancer and didn't believe he would last the 18 month sentence. He pled for the judge to let him do house arrest, but didn't get any leniency.

 

[nukinfuts29]

Why do people go out that way? I would rather put a bullet in my head and be done with it.

 

[Pumbaa]

CO poisoning is like falling asleep. I deal with it (CO suicides) a lot in my line of work being firefighter/paramedic and have had CO poisoning a couple times myself. TBH it's not bad unless you survive, then ya feel like sh!t for a week

 

[GodsStepBrother]

Is this true that the guy on moonshine is popcorn's son and that popcorn killed himself after being busted?

That last run doc of popcorn's was pretty interesting.

Read this article Moonshiner

Apparently the guy was caught with over 800 gallons of moon shine, and 3 one thousand gallon stills. I thought this was going to be his last damn "likker run".

 

[bierhaus15]

He was only 61 years old when he died?! Hard to believe that.

 

[TxBrew]

I have no use for <del>Jerry Springer</del> , er, reality TV shows ... to put it politely.
I recall during the writers strike a few years back, people saying that networks were going to be relying on the reality type shows during the strike and probably thereafter. At the time I did not think that would happen as the TV shows affected were well liked and had devoted audiences ... something that advertisers like.

Well ... I've plainly "bumped up against the cold hard facts that set me straight".

The reality shows are cheap to produce, don't require writers with more than a 6th grade education, and apparently appeal to enough viewers who are willing to be fed swill that they have been quite successful. Fine with me tho, I just spend less time in front of the tube for it.

I think more than that, as we retreat into ourselves and our interest and become more impersonal as a culture, people will continue to reach for things that mock community aspects. Drama is a product of communities. Truth often being scarier( and you know, real) than fiction I think the progress into mockumentary formats will be more prevalent. Ironic.

 

[nukinfuts29]

I think more than that, as we retreat into ourselves and our interest and become more impersonal as a culture, people will continue to reach for things that mock community aspects. Drama is a product of communities. Truth often being scarier( and you know, real) than fiction I think the progress into mockumentary formats will be more prevalent. Ironic.

Well said. Your posts are always the type of refined the rest of us strive to portray

Sent from my Galaxy S 4G using Home Brew Talk for Android

 

[BigfootCounty]

The last one documentary became monumentally depressing after I found out he killed himself

It puts all of his sad "last damn run" stuff in a new light