Moonshine is a beverage with a rich American history. Whenever anyone thinks about this distilled spirit, they think of gangsters, Prohibition, and bootleggers with souped-up cars trying to get their liquor to market. However, while moonshine might be illegal in some places, in other places it has become legally and culturally acceptable.

We guess that makes celebrating National Moonshine Day—a holiday that falls on the first Thursday in June—a whole lot easier to do. So grab a mason jar full of hooch and get ready to celebrate this holiday with friends—as long as you’re of legal age, of course.

The History of Moonshine

Since we were unable to find out who invented National Moonshine Day, we decided to dig deep into the history of moonshine in the U.S. Moonshine is something that started being made by the Scotch-Irish when they settled parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.

They would make liquor out of corn or other types of grains from the 17th century onwards. Moonshiners would make the liquor, and during Prohibition, bootleggers would smuggle it.

In 1919, when the 18th Amendment was ratified and alcohol became illegal, there was a spike in moonshining across the entire country. In fact, making moonshine was only helped by the fact that it was against the law. Prohibition would last until December 5, 1933, when the 21st Amendment was ratified.

Some Fun Facts About Moonshine

If you still haven’t had enough moonshine information, then you might want to stick around. In this section, we’re going to talk about a few things that we learned about moonshine while we were researching this holiday. Let’s take a look at them below, okay?

Moonshine Used to Be Marked with X’s

Have you ever noticed that in old cartoons they would show jugs of moonshine marked with XXX? Do you know why? It’s because that’s how moonshiners used to label their liquor. To get good quality alcohol, they had to run the liquor through the still multiple times, and they marked each time with an X.

The really good moonshine was the stuff that was run through the still three times, hence the three Xs on the jugs.

It’s Called Moonshine for a Reason

This type of liquor was called moonshine because people had to make it at night under the light of the moon. This was because it was illegal, and making the moonshine at night was a more covert way of doing it.

Because of Moonshine We Have NASCAR

Bootleggers would soup up their cars so they could outrun police patrols during Prohibition. They would then take this skill and start racing their cars against one another. That is how NASCAR became a sport.

Observing National Moonshine Day

This holiday can be observed by legally purchasing a bottle of your favorite moonshine from your local liquor store. The day can also be observed by taking the time to learn more about Prohibition and illicit moonshine. Just be sure that however you observe this holiday, you do it responsibly and in moderation.

Also, make sure that you use the hashtag #NationalMoonshineDay to spread the word about this holiday.