What Does Moonshine Taste Like?
Ever wonder what does moonshine taste like? Many people are interested in sampling moonshine but they are unsure if they will like the taste.
Fortunately, when it comes to moonshine, there is a flavor for everyone.
Are you ready to taste moonshine for the first time? Before you sample, there are a few things you should know.
Moonshine is Made to be Tasteless
Simply put, moonshine is simply unaged whiskey that is bottled straight from the still. Moonshine is traditionally distilled to have a high alcohol content, up to 95%. With this in mind, moonshine has the kick and burn similar to many other high proof alcohols on the market, such as 151 rum.
Traditionally, moonshine is made primarily from corn, about a minimum of 70% of the recipe. Most recipes also include malted barley, which is necessary to help convert grains from a starch to a fermentable sugar.
With this in mind, the taste of moonshine will vary depending on the recipe used. Moonshine is usually characterized by its strong earthy taste and trademark burn. However, there are also ways to flavor your moonshine to make it almost undetectable in many cocktails.
Moonshine Hits you Hard
The first thing to know is that drinking moonshine should not be approached the same way you drink regular spirits. Moonshine is often characterized as high proof grain alcohol. This means that one shot of moonshine contains more alcohol than two standard drinks.
For many people, a 1.5 oz serving of moonshine is enough to put them over the legal alcohol limit of .08 in the United States. So while you may be able to function well after one drink of your usual spirits, the same can not be said for moonshine.
With a blood alcohol level between .06 and .09 many people will experience a drop in self control, reduced judgement, as well as impairments in balance, reaction time, speaking, and inhibitions.
Making a Fruit Mash
While traditional moonshine is a grain alcohol with a high alcohol content, you can actually make moonshine out of almost anything. This is because in order to make moonshine you need to create a mash with fermentable sugars. As fruit is high in natural sugars, it is a great option for making moonshine.
While a fruit based moonshine may sound like a great option for a cocktail, in reality the flavor is much more subtle than you may think.
But that subtle flavor does make a wonderful moonshine. In fact, many seasoned shiners swear by their favorite applejack or peach moonshine recipe. For those who want a traditional moonshine recipe with a twist, we suggest our apple rye whiskey recipe!
Check out our Top 5 Fruit Mash Recipes
More than Just White Whiskey
Moonshine is normally grain or fruit based with a high proof, but this is not always the case. While many people like the kick and burn of moonshine due to its high alcohol content, others see moonshine as a way to make their favorite spirit at home for less.
This means that almost any spirit that you can buy you can also distill at home. While many like to bottle their moonshine straight from the still, you can also choose to age and flavor it with wood chips.
You can also use recipes to make specialty spirits like rum, rye, absinthe and even tequila.
Flavoring your Moonshine
In addition to using specific recipes to make your desired spirit, you can also choose to flavor your moonshine after you have distilled it.
This is a process that can really be done with any type of moonshine, but is really popular when using a simple sugar shine.
Sugar shine is a simple moonshine recipe that is simply sugar, water and yeast. This recipe will not yield a high proof alcohol, but with multiple distillations, you can get about 40 proof.
The best thing about sugar shine is that it is simple and cheap to produce. This makes it the ideal recipe for beginners who are just starting to learn how to use their still.
By flavoring this lower proof moonshine you can recreate many of your favorite speciality liquors for substantially less money. Just check out some of these amazing recipes you can create with sugar shine.
Sinful dark chocolate moonshine
The sweetest lemonade moonshine
Amazing coffee moonshine recipe
How to Flavor Moonshine
Flavoring your moonshine is a simple process that can be created one of two ways. The first is using a mason jar.
For many flavored moonshines, the process is as simple as adding moonshine and flavoring ingredients to a mason jar for about two weeks (you can adjust according to your taste preferences).
Once you have achieved your desired flavor, you simply drain out the solids from your moonshine. This type of flavored moonshine is a great addition or base to your favorite cocktails.
With sugar shine, the alcohol level is similar to vodka so you don’t have to worry as much about accidental overconsumption. However, because flavored moonshine often does not taste like alcohol at all, you still need to be careful.
For other cocktails, flavored moonshine can consist of several ingredients, even other types of alcohol. One example of this is apple pie moonshine. These ingredients are also often stored in a mason jar and solid ingredients, such as cinnamon sticks, are removed when the desired flavor has been reached.
