What is Moonshine?

What is moonshine is a common question but also can be a complex question as it varied greatly.

Simply put, moonshine is an unaged whiskey, which would typically be made with grain, usually a large amount of corn.  It's sometimes made with just a dextrose (corn sugar) base and flavored with corn during fermentation, or even post distillation.  It can be diluted, flavored or sweetened, or drank uncut (undiluted). Any way you enjoy moonshine, it should start as clear and unaged, having had no oak or barrel time, have a corn flavor and aroma, and between 80 proof and 180 proof, which translates to 40% to 90% ABV.  It's often unpolished, meaning that carbon filtration isn't used.  Because it isn't aged, any poor technique used during fermentation or distillation (like excessive amount of heads or tails) is quite noticeable and the flavor and aroma will not be very clean.

Moonshine now defines a commercial product as well as the original illegal spirit made by home distillers in the United States.