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The People Who Lived on the Land that is Now Redstone Arsenal, page 416
bear from blowing up. The thump keg also makes a thumping sound and tells when the fire is too hot and pressure too high. The faster the thump, the higher the pressure. The steam travels through another pipe to the condenser.
6. Don't seal around the pipe with paste where the whiskey runs out. Instead, seal with cotton so the water will drain, but not too fast.
7. Keep the water in the condenser cool. The cooler the condenser is kept, the more whiskey that will be gotten. Keep adding cool water or ice.
8. The first liquid that comes out is pure alcohol and will continue to flow for about three gallons. After the pure alcohol, whiskey will run for about a gallon. Then backings or weak whiskey will run until the boiler is dry of liquid.
9. Get about two gallons of the backings and
10. put out the fire.
11. Mix the whiskey with the pure alcohol and stir.
12. Fill a one-pint bottle with the mixture.
13. Hit it three hard times on the palm of the hand. If a big bubble comes up and flies off then the proof is too high.
14. If it is too high, mix in some backings.
15. Test it again. If a ring of bubbles or beads form around the side, you have a good 85 to 90 proof whiskey.
“What gets a man caught you know, is these jealous people you sell to get jealous of you, think you makin' too much money. They go and tell first one and then another and so it gets out all over the country.”
The making and selling of moonshine is a dangerous and difficult business. Much skill and time is involved. A moonshiner constantly runs the risk of getting caught. A person who decides to make moonshine should be prepared to suffer the consequences.
Mike Porter
[The diagrams of the still on the following pages were drawn by Lester Love.]
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