Chesapeake Bay rivers provided moonshiners a path of evasion.
Appalachian moonshine is a well known American tradition. It began during prohibition when many people in the mountains kept making whiskey despite government law. This is because it was easier to transport through the winding mountains than the crops used to make it (Peine, 99). They kept the tradition alive even after prohibition ended. But these moonshiners aren’t the only distillers to go around government laws. Just as the natural environment of Appalachia promoted moonshining, so did the environment of eastern Virginia and Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay, and the many rivers stemming from it, provided
a perfect route for transporting moonshine and evading the law (Bos). Watermen, people who make a living off of the water, were the natural transporters. Their practice, like that of the Appalachian moonshiners, says a lot about their independent values and lifestyle.
Moonshine from Appalachia and the Chesapeake Bay region aren’t too different. Both are usually un-aged and made from corn (Joyce). Corn is a preferred ingredient for moonshine because early settlers found that corn, easily grown in the region, made good beer. Once distilled, this became what we know as moonshine (Belle Isle). When aging spirits became popular, moonshine fell out of favor. It wasn’t until prohibition that the quickly made, and thus quickly sold, moonshine came back (Belle Isle). The Chesapeake Bay’s rivers remained a main route for illegal moonshine trade long after prohibition.
I grew up hearing stories from my grandfather about drinking moonshine. “I’d drink 3 or 4 ounces and chase it down with a beer,” he told me. He describes the it as sweet and hot. This heat makes sense considering the alcohol he was drinking was around 100 proof. That was about 50 years ago. I can hear him laughing now, “Back then darlin’, I was wild back then.” And he wasn’t the only wild one who bought it. Around the coast of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, many people who worked on the water drank moonshine. They would trade their catch of crabs, oysters, or fish for the liquor, using the winding rivers of the Chesapeake to go around the law. People didn’t go to a house to pick up a stash. The traders would either go to where the boats were tied up or where the buoys were anchored out in the river. Keeping it on the boat was also the best way to avoid the police detection.
Everyone wants to talk about buying the moonshine; but trying to find out who made and sold it is a little trickier. “You ask me 40 years ago I might know something about it,” my grandfather says, meaning he’d have had something to sell or, at the very least, known someone else who would. Outside of those who were making and selling, it was more secretive. “They didn’t want you to know [where the still was],” he explains. Avoiding the law was the major concern. As hiding the stills became more difficult, people soon stopped making the liquor. According to my grandfather, those who did are now either dead or in prison.
Moonshine was an important part of the watermen’s culture. Beyond being a cheap alternative to store-bought liquor, moonshining was a statement about the communities values. Regina Bonniville, who grew up in the community, explains that “they see it as a way of life for some people. That’s a part of [moonshiner’s] history.” She explains that they respect the lifestyle that moonshiners keep. Moonshiners go around the law because they need to and because they want to. Regina says of watermen, “they don’t want to be told what to do, what they can eat or drink or anything else.” It goes deeper than just a simple lack of respect for authority. There’s a sense that the authority isn’t looking out for their best interest. “I don’t view it as government trying to have control over it, but I do see it as the government trying to make a buck off of it,” she says. With this community’s strong sense of independence and distrust of the outside government, it’s no wonder moonshine became such an important part of their life.
Works Cited
Bos, Carole D. “Road to Perdition.” Awesome Stories, 1 July 2002.
Joyce, Jaime. “3 Things You Might Not Know About Moonshine.” Serious Eats,
www.seriouseats.com/2014/09/moonshine-history-women-nascar-illegal-whiskey- distilling.html.
“Our Story.” Belle Isle Moonshine, www.belleislecraftspirits.com/our-story/.
Peine, Emelie M, and Kai A Schafft. “Moonshine, mountaineers, and modernity: distilling
cultural historian the southern Appalachian mountains.” Journal of Appalachian
Studies, vol. 18, no. 1/2, 1 Apr. 2012, pp. 93–112.
