Moonshine: A Global History

Edible

by Kevin R. Kosar

You might think moonshine only comes from ramshackle stills hidden away in the Appalachian Mountains, but the fact of the matter is we’ve been improvising spirits all around the world for centuries. No matter where you go, there is a local bootleg liquor, whether it’s bathtub gin, peatreek, or hjemmebrent. In this book, Kevin R. Kosar tells the colorful and, at times, blinding history of moonshine, a history that’s always been about the from crusading lawmen and clever tinkerers to sly smugglers and ruthless gangsters, from pontificating poets and mountain men to beleaguered day-laborers and foolhardy frat boys. 
           
Kosar first surveys all the things we’ve made moonshine from, including grapes, grains, sugar, tree bark, horse milk, and much more. But despite the diversity of its possible ingredients, all moonshine has two it is extremely alcoholic, and it is, in most places, illegal. Indeed, the history of DIY distilling is a history of criminality and the human ingenuity that has prevailed out of officials’ from cleverly designed stills to the secret smuggling operations that got the goods to market. Kosar also highlights the dark completely unregulated, many moonshines are downright toxic and dangerous to drink. Spanning the centuries and the globe, this entertaining book will appeal to any food and drink lover who enjoys a little mischief.  
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Food

176 pages, Hardcover

Published April 15, 2017

About the author

Hi!

I am the co-editor of Congress Overwhelmed: Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform (2020), the coauthor of Unleashing Opportunity: Policy Reforms for an Accountable Administrative State (2017), and the author of: Ronald Reagan and Education Policy (2011); Failing Grades: The Federal Politics of Education (2005), Whiskey: A Global History (2010), and Moonshine: A Global History (2017).

I have written for the New York Times, Washington Monthly magazine, Washington Post, Public Administration Review, and various journals, magazines, and newspapers.

I blog and edit at UnderstandingCongress.org, EdwardCBanfield.org, Beverages, Books, and More, Federal Education Policy History website, and Kosar's Fishing Notes.

I work at the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC. I earned my Ph.D. in politics from New York University and have lived in Washington, DC since 2003.

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good coverage for such a short book. I found the last chapter, about moonshine going legit, to be the most interesting one.

[Alexander McStan 82 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moonshine is sort of interesting, I guess?

This is a topic that would be better sung, preferrably by someone with a strong Appalachian accent, acoustic guitar, maybe bagpipes?