It was quite bright at midnight in the Northeast a few nights ago. The celestial culprit was the full moon, also known as the Snow Moon. It created a luminous effect in the clear sky as it reflected off the glistening remnants of a snow storm that blanketed the area earlier this month.
The Snow Moon comes only once a year and according to the weather authority it is currently in the waning gibbous moon phase. That means the moon is fading. The next full moon will occur on March 25th and the Farmer’s Almanac refers to it as the Worm Moon. On April 23rd we will be graced with the Pink Moon which sounds a bit more interesting than a wormy moon. To view the biggest full moon event of 2024 be sure to mark your calendar for November 15th. This moon is named the Beaver Moon and will be in perigee, meaning its rotation is closest and brightest to the Earth.
Historically moonlight elicits thoughts of moody and mystical pursuits, some of them romantic and some of them covert. Aside from smooching under the moonlight, the hazy night cover provides the opportunity for some clandestine activities. One of these procedures was the manufacture of a booze called “moonshine.” The illegally distilled liquor gets its moniker because the spirit was often crafted under the cloak of darkness and by the light of the moon.
There is a long history of homemade liquor dating back to the Whiskey Rebellion. The taxation of privately produced booze was planned to help defer the cost of the Revolutionary War. The farmers didn’t like that and after a scuffle the taxation was eventually removed. Later the same taxation strategy was utilized to help pay for the cost of the Civil War. People didn’t like that taxation either and another long history of sheriffs hunting down moonshiners ensued. When Prohibition went into effect in 1920 the moonshine business was at an all time high!
Nowadays there are plenty of distilleries producing legal moonshine in all flavors and with moderate to high proof. Keep in mind the moonshine scenario is unique to America. When drinking a shot of moonshine, you are drinking a piece of American history.
Further reading on the history of moonshine can be found in Kathryn Smith’s book Methodists and Moonshiners (2023) Evening Post Books.
Get ready for the Worm Moon in March with a moonshine cocktail. This one is called Cocktail #59623
*Stay tuned. There will be more about the meaning of the cocktail’s numerical name in future newsletters. *
RECIPE:
2 oz. high proof moonshine
½ oz. orange liqueur
1 ½ oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. fresh orange juice
¼ oz. agave nectar
1 jalapeno sliced into round pieces
Chili salt (optional)
Rub lime on edge of rocks glass, dip in chili salt, place in freezer (optional). Muddle 3 jalapeno slices in bottom of cocktail shaker, add ice and all ingredients, shake, double strain into the rocks glass, add 1 large ice cube. Garnish with a few jalapeno slices, orange and lime peel.
Wendy! Thanks for enlightening me or should I say white lightening me. I didn't know of this song, but it should be the moonshine theme song. "I got a badge in my pocket and a gun on my hip
Them moonshiners better never make a slip
'Cause I'm a revenooer man"
This is interesting in so many ways, Anne. We are on the SC coast and saw a full orange moon over the ocean Sunday night. Love the funny postcards, and thanks for plugging my book!