Moonshine in Appalachia:
A Constant Thread in the Tapestry of Mountain Life

My sister recently shared with me a little known fact of our grandparents’ lives in Kentucky as young parents. They were involved in the illegal manufacture and sale of alcoholic spirits, also known as moonshining (Brown). Having known our grandparents to be very peaceful, law abiding citizens in their elder years, I find this revelation of illegal activity oddly fascinating. I want to understand how and why our grandparents got involved in moonshining which is a key element of our family’s heritage as Scottish immigrants to the United States. The production of illicit whiskey has been an integral part of American history since the early days of our country. Stiff taxation of alcohol and ingredients for the manufacture of alcohol by the British government angered colonists who were seeking economic freedom (Carr 16). Having then gained their freedom from taxation without representation from the British government, US citizens were furious when the fledging government imposed a tax on home distilled spirits (Carr 20, Abramson and Haskell 413). This began a long term battle between the United States government and her citizens over the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol (Carr 20). In order to understand how my grandparents came to be involved in this battle over the home production of liquor, we must examine the history, culture and economy of Appalachia as it pertains to moonshine.

Some history books credit the colonists with introducing the craft of distilling alcohol in colonial America as if it had not been done before in this part of the world. However, Charles I, King of Spain, recorded that the Native Americans were already distilling mescal by the 16th century (Carr 10). Irish and Scot immigrants brought to the new world the knowledge and tools needed for making