Thinking of ‘Netflix and Chill’ this weekend? Well, make it Shine! This amazing Moonshine cocktail will bring a little magic. It is a gorgeous drink that changes colors- and so delicious- Enjoy this Color-changing Moonshine Cocktail- ‘Swill” and Refill!
The magic ingredient is this Butterfly Pea Flower Tea. You can purchase this through Amazon. It is all natural and organic. This tea is a gorgeous blue that changes to purple with the acidity of the citrus. If you want to keep your simple syrup blue, you can add 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda. Otherwise, enjoy the color-changing magic!
The Moonshine you can get at your liquor store is not the hair-raising alcohol you get from the still, but can still pack a punch at 100 proof. Vodka is 80 proof by comparison.
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Swill is known as a liquid mixture containing waste food that is given to pigs to eat. When it comes to alcohol, the term is used as a derogatory label for any drink meant for human ingestion perceived as unpalatable or almost undrinkable- sometimes associated with lower-end home brews- or even moonshine.
In this case, our Netflix and Swill (Moonshine) Cocktail is surprising and delightful. Enjoy the ‘Thrill of the Swill’!
America has a deep cultural relationship to this liquor, and it is certainly coupled with rebellion. Why else would this illicit alcohol have so many names applied lovingly applied to it?
Bootleg, Home Brew, White Lightning, Skull Cracker, Kentucky Creek water, Firewater, Stillbilly, ‘Shine, Super Proof Juice, Thunder Jug, Everclear, Rotgut, Ruckus Juice, Mule Kick, Blind Randy, Wobble Juice, Bathtub Gin, Mountain Dew, Corn Likker, White trash, Appalachian Punch- are just a few…
Moonshine can be made from any grain or fruit but is commonly made using corn. It is a high-proof alcohol, traditionally clear and usually unaged whiskey. Moonshine is typically at least 40% alcohol by volume or 80 proof, but can be as high as 190 proof. Mostly, Moonshine was homemade in a still, or make-shift distillery, and bottled in a mason jar.
Does Moonshine have an origin story?You bet it does! Creating moonshine began in England in the 18th century and spread to the US. For the first 200 years of its consumption in America, it was legal to produce homemade alcohol. In fact, Native Americans were producing booze long before America was colonized.
Later, issues surrounding the taxation of alcohol played a role in the American Revolution, the Whiskey Rebellion, and the Civil War. The term moonshine comes from early British settlers. This term was used to describe things that were done at night, like illegal activities that had to be under the cover of nightfall.
You may be surprised to know that Illegal moonshine in the states actually began with farmers in Pennsylvania. In 1791, the federal government imposed the first tax, “whiskey tax”, imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. For the next three years, distillers held off the tax collectors. Unfortunately, the rebellion ended with 13,000 militiamen from surrounding states that marched with President Washington to put down the rebellion. This was the first test of the new government. By 1802, then President Thomas Jefferson repealed the excise tax on whiskey, and the events from the decade prior came known as the Whiskey Rebellion.
While Moonshine has roots in Pennsylvania, it certainly has roots in the South, where Southern moonshiners deeply resented liquor revenue enforcement and viewed it as an extension of Yankee tyranny. Moonshine white whiskey is also part of the culture in the mountainous regions of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
Moonshine was a significant source of income for generations of people in the mountains. Historically, it was one of the few ways to earn cash in the rural mountain economies. The mountains were also rich with places to hide illegal stills.
Is Hooch Illegal?People have been distilling their own alcohol for thousands of years and moonshine has a special place in American culture. While individuals of legal drinking age may produce wine or beer at home for personal or family use, Federal law strictly prohibits individuals from producing distilled spirits at home. American settlers produced alcohol legally and without tax for many years, until in 1862 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) passed the 1862 Revenue Act. So the tradition of ‘moonshine’ evolved to evade the heavy new taxes, and of course during Prohibition. Today, Commercial distillers are distilling moonshine to consumers legally nationwide, with fancy product labels on new mason jars(fully taxed- of course!).
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Check out our Blue Balls recipe that also uses this tea. A delicious Mule with a twist. Inventive and sheer fun! So get ‘on the ball’ and mix up a batch- They will be the talk of your party.
This is also a fun drink for a Bachelorette Party Find lots of fun party ideas.
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One Response
Hilarious! This drink made us laugh- but it is gorgeous and YUM!