Source: Library of Congress - "The moonshine man" of Kentucky [Composite of 5 scenes of moonshining showing man cutting down tree, man mixing ingredients, moonshiner held captive by 3 men, 3 men on horseback begging for breakfast from framer and boy holding jug by still house
I stumbled across this page from Harpers Weekly magazine from October, 1877. It’s a composite image called “The Moonshine Man.”
The shiners have a long history throughout Appalachia. Many of the first shiners headed down from Southwestern Pennsylvania when President
George Washington sent in the military to enforce the tax on whiskey.
Some of the Scotch, Irish and German distillers left the area and began settling south in the the mountains of Kentucky and beyond.
This rich and rebelious heritage helps make Bourbon unique.
