Moonshine and Firewater

During the late 1800s, this term was primarily used in the rural South to describe whiskey that was illegally - read "hardly" - distilled, late at night while its makers were well-concealed, under the light of the moon. The potent brew was usually made with corn and toxic ingredients - battery acid and rubbing alcohol - to speed up fermentation.

Some sources claim that the English should be credited with creating this term along with its synonym - at least in that country - "moonlight." Around the time of Prohibition, moonshine also came to mean any foolish or silly talk, but we won't hazard any guesses as to why.

Firewater isn't moonshine, though the term is often used to describe it. A translation of the Native American Algonquian words ishkodew, for "fire," and aaboo for "water," firewater can mean any ardent spirit, whether brandy, or whiskey.