Moonshine is illegal whiskey made without following government rules on taxes and licenses. The name came from people making it by moonlight to avoid getting caught. In West Virginia, farmers used corn, clean creek water, and copper stills to make strong homemade whiskey, often called "white lightning" or "mountain dew."

Making moonshine was a way to earn money, since whiskey was worth more than corn and easier to carry. Early settlers from places like Scotland and Ireland brought whiskey-making skills with them and used their whiskey for trade or even to pay taxes.

The U.S. started taxing whiskey in 1791, leading to protests like the Whiskey Rebellion. Later, prohibition laws (starting in 1914 in West Virginia and nationwide from 1920 to 1933) made alcohol illegal, so moonshine-making increased.

To make moonshine, people sprout and mash corn, ferment it into a liquid called mash, and then heat it in a still to collect alcohol. Today, illegal moonshine is rare, and legal distilleries in West Virginia now sell their own versions of "moonshine" whiskey.