Archive for February, 2009

Thunder Road

by David White

Imagine a remake of the 1958 classic “Thunder Road” in which Robert Mitchum sped around in a souped-up hot rod complete with a custom tank for transporting illegal moonshine. Today, the Mitchum character might be tempted to pour that moonshine in the gas tank instead.

Ethanol is known by many names. To chemists, it is ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, made by fermenting almost any material that contains starch or sugar. Most ethanol today comes from corn, wheat or switchgrass. Connoisseurs of mountain-made bootleg liquor will know ethanol best as moonshine, white lightning, fire water or old stump hole. At 190 proof, ethanol packs quite a wallop.

Law officers destroying a moonshine still, Gordon County, GA 1922 (Image courtesy of Georgia Archives, Vanishing Georgia collection, gor115)

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