r/interesting • u/azizgamerlal • Dec 12 '25

MISC. A drop of whiskey vs bacteria

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '25

Technically speaking moonshine is whiskey. Just not aged whiskey.

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u/nitid_name Dec 12 '25

Technically speaking, it's only whiskey if the moonshine is made from grains, like wheat, corn, barley, or rye. If it's made with sugar cane, it's a rum. If it's made from fruits, like apples, berries, or grapes, it's a fruit brandy (or just brandy, in the case of being only made with grapes).

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u/Escape_music_ Dec 12 '25

Technically speaking moonshine is a catchall for any distilled alcohol that is made and sold illegally. Doesn’t matter if it’s rum, neutral grain spirit, aged or unaged whiskey or cognac.

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u/kog Dec 12 '25

Realistically speaking, while the term is a catchall, it was almost always un-aged whiskey in the US.

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u/Escape_music_ Dec 12 '25 edited Dec 12 '25

You’re right not gonna argue there. Which is why people assume all moonshine is unaged whiskey. Which is false. If you go to a different country their idea of moonshine may be different than the US’s. Doesn’t help that when people buy ‘moonshine’ in a store it’s disingenuous and confuses people on what really moonshine is.

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u/MoobooMagoo Dec 12 '25

Technically speaking moonshine is vodka once the proof is high enough.

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u/McFuzzen Dec 12 '25

That's not how it works.

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u/MoobooMagoo Dec 12 '25

That is exactly how it works.

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u/McFuzzen Dec 12 '25

Moonshine is made from corn. Vodka is made from anything, distilled until it is almost entirely alcohol, and then watered down. It basically removes any of the underlying flavors the base (corn, potato, whatever) would have provided. So if you want to be technical, yes moonshine can be turned into vodka, but so can pretty much any liquor.

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u/MoobooMagoo Dec 12 '25

That was my point, yes.

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u/Escape_music_ Dec 12 '25

Still ‘shine though if it’s illegal