Moonshine. The most profitable byproduct of the corn harvest. Illegal. Dangerous. And the backbone of Cutter Gap’s illicit economic activities and its dangerous feuds.
“….a great deal of the moonshine produced in the United States during the first half of the [20th] century was indeed made deep in the woods of the Appalachian Mountains.
The only difference between these men, known as “moonshiners,” and legal distillers of liquor was that the moonshiners chose not to license their distilling operations or pay taxes on the product.
This production of illegal liquor, typically a cheap whiskey made with corn mash, was popular long before the days of Prohibition (which only led to business booming more) and came into the American South with Scotch-Irish immigrants in the late 18th century.”
— from White Lightning by Joel Stice
Image courtesy of Tennessee State Library and Archives