Narrator:
MORE THAN THREE CENTURIES AGO,
AMERICAN BOOTLEGGERS
MADE CORN WHISKEY BY MOONLIGHT
TO AVOID BEING DETECTED
BY THE TAX AUTHORITIES,
AND SO THIS WHISKEY
BECAME KNOWN AS MOONSHINE.
TODAY, THAT WHISKEY HAS EMERGED
FROM THE SHADOWS OF HISTORY
AND IS PRODUCED LEGALLY, BUT
PEOPLE STILL CALL IT MOONSHINE.
IT WAS THE NECTAR OF OUTLAWS --
CLEAR, FRESH CORN WHISKEY
THAT'S 50% ALCOHOL,
AND CENTURIES LATER,
IT STILL HAS A POTENT APPEAL.
IN VIRGINIA,
THEY STILL MAKE THIS WHISKEY
THE TRADITIONAL WAY,
ALLOWING CORN TO GERMINATE
IN A PROCESS CALLED MALTING.
THEY MIX A SMALL AMOUNT
OF THE MALTED KERNELS
WITH REGULAR CORN IN A BIG TANK,
THEN FUNNEL THE MIX INTO A MILL.
INSIDE THIS MILL,
AUTOMATED HAMMERS GRIND THE MIX
TO A CORNMEAL CONSISTENCY.
THIS FREES SOME OF THE STARCH
AND EXPOSES IT TO ENZYMES
FROM THE MALTED KERNELS.
THOSE ENZYMES
CONVERT THE STARCH TO SUGAR.
THEY'LL USE
SOME OF THIS GROUND CORN
TO MAKE A BIG BATCH OF YEAST.
THEY ADD IT TO WATER IN A TANK
AND BOIL IT
UNTIL IT BECOMES A THICK SOUP.
ONCE IT REACHES
THE DESIRED CONSISTENCY,
THEY ALLOW IT TO COOL
TO ROOM TEMPERATURE.
THEY ADD YEAST AND BLOW AIR INTO
THE MIX TO HELP THE YEAST GROW,
MAKING THIS ONE BIG BATCH
OF LIQUID YEAST.
IN ANOTHER TANK, A TON OF CORN
IS BEING BLENDED
WITH WATER AND BOILED.
THIS BREAKS DOWN MORE OF THE
STARCH, CONVERTING IT TO SUGAR.
ONCE COOLED, THEY PUMP THE MIX
AND THE LIQUEFIED YEAST
INTO THE FERMENTATION TANK.
OVER A PERIOD OF FOUR DAYS,
THE YEAST TURNS THE SUGAR
TO ALCOHOL.
THE PROCESS ALSO GENERATES
CARBON DIOXIDE,
WHICH IS VENTED
INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
EVERY SO OFTEN, THE BREWMASTER
SCOOPS UP SOME LIQUID
AND SCRUTINIZES IT.
IF IT LOOKS TOO THICK,
THE CONVERSION OF SUGAR
TO ALCOHOL IS NOT YET COMPLETE.
BUT WHEN THE VISCOSITY
IS JUST RIGHT,
THEY PUMP THE BATCH
INTO A BIG COPPER STILL.
IT'S JUST LIKE THE TYPE USED
TO MAKE MOONSHINE
IN THE BACKWOODS CENTURIES AGO.
THEY HEAT IT
TO 82 DEGREES CELSIUS.
AT THAT TEMPERATURE, ALCOHOL
WILL BOIL, BUT WATER WILL NOT.
AS THE ALCOHOL
BOILS OFF THE MIX,
IT'S RECOVERED
THROUGH A CONDENSER.
THE RECOVERED LIQUID
IS 80% ALCOHOL.
TALK ABOUT A STIFF DRINK.
SO THEY ADD WATER
TO CUT IT DOWN TO ABOUT 50%,
AND THEN IT'S READY TO BOTTLE.
TO MAKE A DARKER WHISKEY,
THEY STEEP IT
WITH WHAT LOOKS LIKE
A BIG TEA BAG.
IT'S ACTUALLY WOOD CHIPS
WRAPPED IN CHEESECLOTH.
THE WHISKEY ABSORBS FLAVOR
AND COLOR FROM THE WOOD
OVER A PERIOD
OF ABOUT TWO MONTHS.
WHEN THE WHISKEY TAKES
ON A GOLDEN HUE,
THEY TRANSFER IT
INTO OAK BARRELS.
THEY ALLOW THE WHISKEY TO AGE
FOR TWO YEARS IN A HOT ROOM.
THE HEAT CAUSES THE WHISKEY
TO EXPAND,
CAUSING IT TO ABSORB THE FLAVOR
OF THE WOOD,
BUT THE PRESSURE CAN ALSO CAUSE
CRACKS IN THE BARRELS,
SO THE BREWMASTER
ROUTINELY CHECKS FOR LEAKS.
AFTER THE WHISKEY HAS AGED,
THEY ADJUST THE ALCOHOL CONTENT
BY ADDING A LITTLE WATER.
THE WATER IS ALWAYS SOFTENED
AND FILTERED TO REMOVE MINERALS
THAT COULD AFFECT
THE WHISKEY'S TASTE.
AT THE BOTTLING STATION,
MACHINERY PUMPS THE WHISKEY
INTO THE CONTAINERS.
THERE'S NO SPILLAGE,
AND NOT A DROP GOES TO WASTE.
MACHINERY THEN TWISTS ON
THE CAPS
FOR AN AIRTIGHT SEAL THAT
PRESERVES THE AROMA AND FLAVOR
OF THIS OLD-FASHIONED
CORN WHISKEY.
AT THE NEXT STATION,
ROBOTIC ARMS GRAB LABELS,
APPLY GLUE TO THEM, THEN
PRESS THEM ONTO THE BOTTLES.
IT HAS TAKEN A COMBINATION
OF DOWN-HOME METHODOLOGY
AND MODERN TECHNOLOGY
TO PREPARE THIS OLD-FASHIONED
AMERICAN WHISKEY FOR MARKET.
AND WHETHER IT'S AGED OR FRESH,
THIS HISTORIC WHISKEY IS SURE
TO SET THE TASTE BUDS ABLAZE.
