There is an emerging category in the spirits market for the past few years that is gaining more popularity despite most people not having tasted it before or even really knowing what it is. The spirit I am referring to goes by a number of names; Moonshine, White Lightning, White Dog, New Make, or White Whiskey. They all refer to unaged whiskey more or less fresh from a still and never having seen the inside of a barrel. While there are a few older brands that have been around for years (such as Georgia Moon) there has been a real explosion of brands in the last few years. A few definitions/explanations and some guidance on this new spirit for those wishing to learn more about it before they try it.
Moonshine is a bit of a misnomer – it usually is referring to illegal, untaxed whiskey made on the sly usually at night. None of the products are your local liquor store are made this way – it refers to the style of whiskey – unaged and a fairly high amount of corn used in as the base grain. In many cases this will be flavored with fruit – a practice that was also used in the early days of gin (using juniper) in both cases to mask the rough edges of a crude cheap distillation. While this is usually not the case with the new products, like gin, they have made a much better distillate but kept the flavorings as part of their style.
White Lightning is another name for moonshine in many respects but also refers in many cases to it’s effects due to a high proof and what happens when you drink it. Uncut raw whiskey from a pot still (the kind of still used for the most part in illicit whiskey production) usually runs about 120 – 160 proof maximum .This name is also trading on it’s myths and folklore as most of the new products run from 80 proof (40% alcohol) to 100 proof (50% alcohol).There are a number of white whiskeys out there now, Finger Lakes Distilling Makes both a corn type and a corn and spelt whiskey locally along with Judds Wreckin’ Ball Corn Whiskey from Montezuma Winery/Hidden Marsh Distillery in Seneca Falls and many other micros have jumped in. There are also some older established distilleries such as Bufallo Trace and Heaven Hill that have barrel proof (120 proof or so) white whiskey products that are unaged bourbons that normally they would barrel and age for years before bottling so they are useful in learning what a new spirit tastes like without having to go to the distilleries ( but I highly recommend that you do). All in all they are an interesting group of whiskies with wide variations in taste so they are a fun whiskey niche to explore. The cocktail potential for them is well, shall we say in development, there are not many cocktails tailored to them but they can be quite versatile , it’s just they are new to the scene – unless you go way back to the beginnings of cocktail books- so it may take some digging to find some recipes to your taste.