The Red Flannel Rag

down to about ninety- five to one hundred percent. That’s the way we put it on the

market.”

Moonshiners displayed a special skill when they tested the alcohol content of the

“doublings.” Their only instrument was the “bead” of the whiskey. The “bead” was a

small bubble that settled to the top of the whiskey. Dad explained this process to me,

“We would pour some whiskey into a clear glass container usually a fruit jar and put a

tight lid o n it. Then we shook the jar and watched how the ‘bead’ settled around the top

of the moonshine.”

Dad and Uncle Shirley had different opinions about where they wanted the

“bead” to settle. My dad said he always wanted about three - fourths of the “bead” to

hang above the top of the liquid. If the bead was lower, the moonshine was too weak. It

was poured back into the mixing tub, and more pure doublings were added. If three-

fourths of the “bead” was over the top of the liquid, the moonshine was one hundred

proof or fifty percent alcohol.

Uncle Shirley preferred the bead to be half above and half below the top of the

moonshine after shaking the jar. “I liked to put my whiskey on the market at about

ninety to ninety- five proof.”

I asked Dad and Uncle Shirley , “What all did you use to make moonshine? Did

you always just use grain?”

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